The  Life  and  Meaning 

of 
Theodore  Roosevelt 


BY 

EUGENE  THWING     '  «  6 


NEW  YORK 

CURRENT  LITERATURE 

PUBLISHING  COMPANY 

1919 


COPYRIGHT,  1919 
CURRENT  LITERATURE  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 


THE  REASON  AND  PURPOSE 

It  would  be  next  to  impossible  for  any  one  man 
alone  to  write  a  complete  life  of  Theodore  Roose- 
velt. There  will  be  many  lives  of  Roosevelt, 
as  there  are  many  of  Lincoln,  and  among  them 
will  be,  in  course  of  time,  an  "  authorized  "  life, 
by  one  of  Mr.  Roosevelt's  close  friends,  to  whom 
he  turned  over  much  personal  material  shortly 
before  his  death.  But  even  this  "  authorized  " 
life  cannot  tell  the  whole  remarkable  story.  It  is 
hoped  and  expected  that  other  personal  friends 
will  write  lives  of  Roosevelt  such  as  only  they 
could  write.  Senator  Lodge,  for  example,  and 
William  Loeb,  would  bring  to  the  work  a  wealth 
of  personal  reminiscences  and  an  intimacy  of 
narrative  and  interpretation  quite  different  from 
that  available  to  other  biographers.  On  the 
other  hand,  any  life  written  by  an  intimate  per- 
sonal friend  or  co-worker  will  necessarily  con- 
tain much  of  personal  viewpoint  and  feeling. 
It  will  present  the  observations,  the  impressions, 
the  understandings  and  estimates  gained  in  close 
contact  during  circumstances  which  reveal  some- 
thing less  than  the  whole  man. 

Theodore  Roosevelt  was  so  many-sided;  his 
interests  and  activities  covered  such  a  surprising 
range  of  subjects  and  places;  he  was  so  many 
men  compressed  into  one ;  such  a  marvelous  com- 


iv  THE  REASON  AND  PURPOSE 

posite  of  mentaf,  physical,  and  spiritual  charac- 
teristics, that  no  single  one  of  his  friends  could 
be  expected  to  know,  or  to  understand  all  of 
him.  Times  without  number,  when  groups  of 
his  friends  met,  there  were  persons  among  them 
utterly  foreign  to  one  another,  without  any  possi- 
ble point  of  contact  or  relationship  of  interest 
or  understanding.  Yet  every  one  of  them  was 
definitely  and  closely  related  by  some  mutual  in- 
terest and  sympathy  to  Mr.  Roosevelt.  He  has 
been  called  by  his  most  recent  biographer  "  the 
typical  American,"  and  the  flattering  unction  has 
been  laid  to  our  souls  that  "  he  is  our  kind  " ;  but 
these  statements,  as  they  stand,  are  far  from 
accurate  in  any  individual  sense.  If  he  were  a 
typical  American,  there  would  be  enough  others 
like  him  to  justify  pointing  to  him  as  the  type. 
If  he  were  "  our  kind  "  the  converse  ought  to  be 
true,  that  the  rest  of  us  are  his  kind.  That  is 
true  in  a  possessive  sense  but  not  in  a  descriptive 
sense.  Happy,  indeed,  would  be  the  Nation  if  it 
were  true, —  so  happy,  so  pure,  so  strong,  that 
every  one  of  us  may  well  devote  time  and  effort 
to  the  utmost  to  make  it  true.  Theodore  Roose- 
velt was  a  composite  of  all  the  best  American 
types,  including  politicians,  statesmen,  litterateurs, 
naturalists,  soldiers,  hunters,  plainsmen,  explor- 
ers, family  men,  reformers,  orators,  athletes,  com- 
mon citizens,  and  hundred  per  cent  Americans. 
We  are  proud  to  think  of  him  as  typifying 
America,  and  we  want  to  produce  more  indi- 
viduals like  him  if  we  can. 

To  view  a  large  landscape,  it  is  necessary  to 
stand  off  at  a  distance.     To  see  the  whole  world, 


THE  REASON  AND  PURPOSE  v 

it  is  necessary  for  most  of  us  to  look  at  many 
pictures  made  by  other  men  who  have  seen  what 
we  cannot  hope  to  see.  Theodore  Roosevelt's 
life,  as  he  lived  it,  is  too  big  and  many-sided  for 
one  man,  however  intimate,  to  see  without  the 
help  of  many  other  men.  Many  thousands  of 
men,  of  many  kinds,  and  many  stations  in  life 
could  contribute  exclusive  pictures,  and  stories, 
and  personal  impressions  to  a  real  life  of  Theo- 
dore Roosevelt.  Perhaps  no  other  man  ever 
lived  who  created,  during  his  lifetime,  so  rich 
and  varied  a  supply  of  biographical  material  to 
overwhelm  historians  with  its  surprising  wealth. 
He  has  been  the  source  of  more  news  and  more 
controversy,  the  inspirer  of  more  newspaper  edi- 
torials and  magazine  articles,  the  creator  of  more 
issues  and  personal  impulses  than  any  other  hu- 
man being.  To  serve  the  special  purpose  for 
which  this  present  volume  is  prepared,  I  have 
thought  it  better,  therefore,  to  gather  some  of  the 
stories,  the  impressions  and  the  intimate  personal 
experiences  of  many  men  who  have  known  Theo- 
dore Roosevelt  in  the  widely  diversified  activities 
of  his  life,  rather  than  to  attempt  anything  like 
a  historical  biography.  Others  are  far  better 
equipped  for  the  latter  work,  and  it  will  be  done 
well  in  a  sufficient  variety  of  ways.  If  this  book 
shall  help  to  preserve  in  a  series  of  vivid  pictures, 
for  our  own  comfort  and  delight,  the  personality 
of  the  man  who  became  so  dear  to  us  all  and  so 
great  a  part  of  our  interest  in  life,  if  this  book 
shall  help  a  little  to  put  something  of  the  inspira- 
tion of  that  manly  personality  into  the  hearts  and 
minds  of  men  who  yet  have  before  them  the  pos- 


vi  THE  REASON  AND  PURPOSE 

sibility  of  making  their  own  lives  and  their  own 
achievements  bulk  larger  in  the  days  ahead,  its 
purpose  will  be  accomplished. 

The  last  few  chapters,  containing  a  frank  study 
of  the  characteristics  and  meaning  of  Roosevelt's 
life,  are  somewhat  amplified  from  an  article  which 
•I  wrote  for  The  Circle  Magazine  after  Mr. 
Roosevelt's  return  from  his  African  hunting  trip. 
He  expressed  unusual  satisfaction  with  the  article 
at  that  time,  and  the  passing  years  and  events 
have  added  emphasis  to  the  lessons  which  his  life 
brings  home  to  the  young  men  of  to-day. 

I  am  very  grateful  to  many  who  have  gener- 
ously granted  me  permission  to  include  in  the 
collection  of  personal  reminiscences  and  sketches 
here  presented  choice  material  gathered  or  pre- 
pared by  themselves.  Without  their  cooperation 
it  would  have  been  impossible  to  give,  now,  such  a 
many-sided  picture  of  this  many-sided  man.  I 
am  indebted  also  to  the  special  material  pre- 
sented in  the  press,  particularly  The  Sun,  Times, 
Tribune,  Herald,  and  Evening  Post,  New  York, 
at  the  time  of  Mr.  Roosevelt's  death,  for  much 
helpful  information  and  numerous  incidents.  I 
am  especially  indebted  to  George  William  Doug- 
las for  numerous  incidents  which  he  had  been  to 
no  little  pains  to  gather  and  to  verify  for  his  book 
"  The  Many-sided  Roosevelt,"  now  unfortu- 
nately out  of  print.  He  very  generously  granted 
liberal  use  of  this  material.  I  have  been  im- 
pressed more  and  more,  however,  with  the  im- 
possibility of  giving  anything  like  an  adequate 
portraiture  of  so  remarkable  and  multiple  a 
man  as  Mr.  Roosevelt  in  a  single  small  volume. 


THE  REASON  AND  PURPOSE  vii 

The  story,  or  stories,  of  his  life  would  fill  many 
volumes  with  fascinating  narrative  and  char- 
acter study.  I  hope  this  one  book  may  at  least 
stimulate  some  appetites  for  a  wider  and  deeper 
study  of  the  life  and  meaning  of  Theodore  Roose- 
velt. 

EUGENE  THWING. 
New  York,  April  10,  1919. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

THE  REASON  AND  PURPOSE iii 

I    A    TWICE-BORN    BOY i 

II    COLLEGE  AND  GROWTH 18 

III  INTO  THE  FIGHT  FOR  GOOD  GOVERNMENT  .  31 

IV  RANCHMAN   AND   HUNTER  IN   THE   GREAT 

WEST 56 

V  ROUGH   RIDERS  AND  SPANIARDS   ....    87 

VI  "  SHELVING  "  A  FIGHTING  GOVERNOR     .     .  102 

VII  PRESIDENT  BY  THE  CALL  OF  DEATH  .     .     .112 

VIII  CONTACT  WITH  THE  PEOPLE 128 

IX  PRESIDENT  BY  THE  CALL  OF  THE  NATION  .     .  140 

X  EXPLORER   AND    GOOD    SPORTSMAN    .     .     .  160 

XI    BIRTH    AND    DEATH    OF   THE    PROGRESSIVE 

PARTY 174 

XII    THE   VOICE   THAT   ROUSED   THE    NATION'S 

SOUL       190 

XIII  THE  LAST  SCENES  OF  THE  GREAT  ADVENTURE  202 

XIV  A  LOVER  OF  HOME  AND  CHILDREN  .     .     .215 
XV    A  BIRD  LOVER  AND  NATURALIST  .     .     .     .231 

XVI    THE  AUTHOR  AND  MAN  OF  INTELLECT  .     .  238 
XVII    THE  MAN  OF  VIGOR  AND  ACTION   .     .     .253 

XVIII    HUMAN  AND  DEMOCRATIC,  ABOUNDING  IN 

FELLOWSHIP 281 

XIX    THE  HERO  OF  MANY  A  GOOD  STORY  .     .     .312 

XX    THE  MORAL  LEADER  AND  STALWART  AMERI- 
CAN      340 

XXI    THE  MEANING  OF  ROOSEVELT 357 


ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND 
MEANING 


CHAPTER  I 

A  TWICE-BORN   BOY 

WHAT  kind  of  a  boy  was  the  father  of  so 
great  a  man?  The  inspiration  of  Theodore 
Roosevelt's  life  and  example,  the  marvelous 
power  he  wielded  so  easily  over  men  of  all  classes 
and  in  all  lands,  the  surprising  variety  and  value 
of  his  achievements  during  nearly  forty  years 
of  active  participation  in  public  affairs  have 
impelled  many  of  his  fellow  citizens  to  inquire 
more  closely  into  conditions  and  influences  of 
his  boyhood.  Was  he  miraculously  endowed  — 
an  infant  prodigy  —  with  genius  and  strength 
beyond  other  boys  ?  He  answered  that  question 
once,  himself,  when  Mr.  Julian  Street  asked  him 
if  he  thought  he  had  genius.  "  Most  certainly 
I  have  not,"  he  said,  pointing  out  some  of  his 
own  deficiencies.  Then  he  said,  with  a  frank 
smile,  "  To  tell  the  truth,  I  like  to  believe  that, 
by  what  I  have  accomplished  without  great  gifts, 
I  may  be  a  source  of  encouragement  to  American 
boys." 

Very  little  that  can  be  called  unusual  has  been 
found  by  searchers  into  the  childhood  life  of 


2          ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

Theodore  Roosevelt.  Most  of  the  stories  thus 
far  told  of  his  boyhood  exploits  are  not  more 
remarkable  than  the  stories  which  could  be  told 
of  many  another  American  small  boy.  Not- 
withstanding a  discouraging  handicap  of  ill  health 
during  the  first  thirteen  years  of  his  life  he  had 
many  of  the  normal  traits  of  an  average  boy 
plus  a  little  more  than  normal  interest  in  natural 
history. 

His  father,  Theodore  Roosevelt,  descended 
from  Holland  stock,  was  a  well-to-do  glass  mer- 
chant in  New  York  City.  He  "  was  the  best 
man  I  ever  knew,"  wrote  our  own  Theodore  in 
his  autobiography.  "  He  combined  strength  and 
courage  with  gentleness,  tenderness,  and  great 
unselfishness.  He  would  not  tolerate  in  us  chil- 
dren selfishness  or  cruelty,  idleness,  cowardice, 
or  untruthfulness.  As  we  grew  older  he  made 
us  understand  that  the  same  standard  of  clean 
living  was  demanded  for  the  boys  as  for  the 
girls;  that  what  was  wrong  in  a  woman  could 
not  be  right  in  a  man.  With  great  love  and 
patience,  and  the  most  understanding  sympathy 
and  consideration,  he  combined  insistence  and 
discipline.  He  never  physically  punished  me  but 
once,  but  he  was  the  only  man  of  whom  I  was 
ever  really  afraid.  I  do  not  mean  that  it  was  a 
wrong  fear,  for  he  was  entirely  just,  and  we  chil- 
dren adored  him.  He  was  interested  in  every 
social  reform  movement,  and  he  did  an  immense 
amount  of  practical  charitable  work  himself.  He 
was  a  big,  powerful  man,  with  a  leonine  face, 
and  his  heart  filled  with  gentleness  for  those  who 
needed  help  or  protection,  and  with  the  possi- 


A  TWICE-BORN  BOY  3 

bility  of  much  wrath  against  a  bully  or  an  oppres- 
sor." 

Of  his  mother,  Martha  Bulloch,  Theodore 
Roosevelt  says,  "  she  was  a  sweet,  gracious, 
beautiful  Southern  woman,  entirely  '  unrecon- 
structed.' to  the  day  of  her  death."  Her  devo- 
tion to  the  Southern  cause  and  her  husband's 
ardent  espousal  of  the  Union  cause  did  not,  how- 
ever, result  in  the  unhappiness  from  which  so 
many  families  suffered  in  that  tragic  period. 
Complete  harmony  in  the  home  was  preserved 
together  with  complete  independence  of  individ- 
ual convictions,  and  so  the  storm  passed  over 
the  Roosevelt  household  leaving  it  unscathed. 

From  such  parents  Theodore  Roosevelt  was 
born  October  27,  1858,  inheriting  love  and  un- 
derstanding of  both  North  and  South  and  the 
fighting  spirit  which  had  nothing  of  bitterness, 
deceit,  or  narrowness. 

The  parental  discipline  which  formed  a  neces- 
sary part  of  young  Theodore's  training  was  not 
of  the  whipping  kind.  Only  once,  he  tells  us, 
was  he  punished  in  this  manner,  and  it  was  his 
teeth,  evidently  an  effective  part  of  his  per- 
sonality even  at  the  early  age  of  four  years  which 
got  him  into  trouble.  In  later  years  he  had 
them  under  better  control,  showing  them  but 
not  using  them  to  emphasize  his  demands.  At 
four  years,  however,  he  was  elemental  and 
planted  his  teeth  in  his  sister's  arm.  Then,  flee- 
ing the  wrath  to  come,  he  ran  away  to  the  kit- 
chen. The  cook  was  making  bread.  Grabbing  a 
handful  of  plough  as  the  only  defensive  ammuni- 
tion in  sight,  the  fugitive  hid  under  a  table,  and 


4         ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

when  relentless  fate  in  the  person  of  his  father 
overtook  him,  he  heaved  the  dough  full  into  his 
face.  It  was  an  unexpected  attack,  but  it  did 
not  repel  the  invader,  and  retreat  was  the  only 
thing  left.  The  young  American  dough-boy 
darted  out  from  his  table  trench  and  ran  half- 
way up  the  stairs  before  he  was  caught  and  re- 
ceived the  punishment  which  he  admits  "  fitted 
the  crime." 

At  another  time,  while  still  a  very  small  boy, 
and  feeling  little  of  the  great  struggle  which  had 
torn  the  nation,  yet  quick  to  understand  that 
father  and  mother  were  not  one  in  their  views 
about  that  conflict,  young  Theodore  ventured  to 
take  sides  in  a  surprising  manner.  Some  act  of 
maternal  discipline  had  displeased  him  during 
the  day,  and  at  night,  when  all  the  children  gath- 
ered at  their  mother's  knee  to  say  their  bed-time 
prayers,  Theodore  prayed  loud  and  fervently  for 
the  success  of  the  Union  Arms.  His  mother,  re- 
strained by  love  and  a  strong  sense  of  humor, 
did  not  inflict  punishment  to  "  fit  the  crime,"  but 
she  warned  him  not  to  repeat  the  offense,  under 
penalty  of  having  the  case  referred  to  his  father, 
who  might  not  allow  his  delight  at  gaining  so 
militant  an  adherent  to  the  Union  Cause  deter 
him  from  administering  punishment  for  the  in- 
dignity paid  to  the  mother. 

Theodore's  aunt  Anna,  his  mother's  sister,  was 
like  a  second  mother  to  the  children,  and  a 
mutual  devotion  existed  between  them.  She 
taught  them  their  lessons,  and  she  and  the  mother 
spent  many  hours  telling  them  stories  of  life  on 
the  Southern  plantations,  and  of  the  "  queer  go- 


'A  TWICE-BORN  BOY  5 

ings-on  in  the  Negro  quarters."  All  the  "  Br'er 
Rabbit "  stories,  which  years  later  were  made 
famous  by  "  Uncle  Remus,"  were  known  at  first 
hand  by  Aunt  Anna,  and  young  Theodore  "  was 
brought  up  on  them,"  to  quote  his  own  testi- 
mony. 

The  stories  he  had  heard  and  his  own  active 
imagination  made  him  very  popular  with  the 
other  children  as  a  story-teller  and  an  inventor 
of  games  in  make-believe.  One  curious  little  ad- 
venture, when  he  was  quite  a  small  boy  in  short 
trousers,  led  him  to  the  discovery  of  something 
which  he  kept  until  the  day  of  his  death. 

Madison  Square  was  a  fine  natural  play- 
ground in  those  days  —  a  good  mile  from  the 
business  center  of  the  city  and  only  a  short  dis- 
tance from  Theodore's  home  on  East  Twentieth 
Street.  He  played  many  a  game  of  tag  there. 
On  the  east  side  of  the  square  was  a  Presbyterian 
church.  One  Saturday  morning  the  doors  stood 
open  invitingly  while  the  sexton  aired  the  build- 
ing. Adventure  seemed  to  beckon  to  the  youth- 
ful Roosevelt  from  the  dim,  mysterious  recesses 
of  the  church.  He  peered  in  at  the  door,  curi- 
ously, but  made  no  move  to  enter.  The  sexton 
had  been  watching  him,  and  now  good  naturedly 
invited  him  to  come  inside.  "  No,  thank  you," 
replied  Theodore.  Then,  realizing  that  some 
explanation  might  be  polite,  he  added,  confi- 
dentially, "  I  know  what  you've  got  in  there." 
The  sexton  smiled  encouragingly  — "  I  haven't 
anything  in  here  that  little  boys  are  not  welcome 
to  see.  Come  in  and  look  around."  Theodore 
hesitated.  The  tingle  of  curiosity  and  love  of  ad- 


6         ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

venture  urged  him  to  go  in,  but  something  made 
him  hold  back.  He  cast  quick  and  somewhat  ap- 
prehensive glances  around  the  pews  and  shadowy 
galleries.  "No  —  I  guess  I'd  rather  not,"  he  said 
and  ran  away  to  his  play. 

But  the  open  church  fascinated  him  and  he 
returned  to  it  again  and  again,  search- 
ing it  with  his  eyes,  but  never  venturing  beyond 
the  portals.  When  he  went  home  and  told  his 
mother  about  his  play,  and  how  the  sexton  asked 
him  to  go  into  the  church,  but  that  he  had  stayed 
out,  his  mother  was  puzzled.  "  Why  didn't  you 
go  in  ?  "  she  asked.  "  There  would  have  been  no 
harm  in  walking  quietly  and  looking  around  the 
church." 

A  boy  never  likes  to  admit  that  he  was  afraid 
of  anything,  and  young  Theodore  was  reluctant 
to  explain ;  but  after  a  little  urging  he  owned  up 
that  he  refused  to  go  in  for  fear  the  "  zeal  "  would 
jump  out  at  him  from  behind  some  pew,  or  the 
gallery,  or  wherever  he  might  be  hiding. 

"  The  Zeal  ?  What  in  the  world  do  you  mean 
by  that  ?  "  exclaimed  his  mother. 

"  Why,  I  suppose  it  must  be  some  big  animal 
like  a  dragon  or  an  alligator,"  explained  Theo- 
dore. "  You  know  I  went  there  to  church  last 
Sunday  with  Uncle  Robert,  and  I  heard  the 
minister  read  from  the  Bible  about  the  Zeal, 
and  it  made  me  afraid  of  the  place." 

Mrs.  Roosevelt  went  at  once  for  the  Con- 
cordance to  settle  the  mystery,  and  read  aloud 
one  after  another,  the  texts  containing  the  word 
"  zeal."  Suddenly  the  boy's  eyes  grew  eager 
with  excitement,  and  he  explained. 


A  TWICE-BORN  BOY  7 

"  That's  it  —  the  one  you  just  read !  "  It  was 
from  the  Psalms :  "  For  the  zeal  of  thy  house 
hath  eaten  me  up." 

It  was  not  long  before  Theodore  captured  a 
fine  specimen  of  American  "  zeal "  and  kept  it  as 
his  closest  companion  through  life.  But  he 
named  it  "  strenuosity." 

Like  many  other  boys,  young  Roosevelt  had  no 
particular  appetite  for  school.  He  admits)  it 
himself ;  but  he  worked  hard  and  did  the  best 
he  could  against  the  handicap  of  ill  health  and 
defective  eyesight.  He  was  far  more  fond  of 
reading  alone,  and  his  parents  allowed  him 
abundant  freedom,  within  the  law,  to  read  what 
he  liked,  never  forcing  him  to  read  what  he  did 
not  like.  Books  were  put  in  his  way  which  his 
parents  thought  he  ought  to  read,  but  if  he 
didn't  like  them,  other  good  ones  were  pro- 
vided that  he  did  like.  Certain  books,  such  as 
dime  novels  were  taboo.  He  read  some  of 
them  on  the  sly,  but  did  not  enjoy  them  enough 
to  pay  for  the  feeling  of  guilt  which  came  with 
the  disobedience  and  concealment. 

Mayne  Reid's  books  were  among  his  favorite 
and  constant  companions.  Although  too  young 
to  understand  all  that  was  in  them,  the  adven- 
ture and  natural  history  parts  "  enthralled " 
him.  He  enjoyed  also  the  quieter  and  more  do- 
mestic stories  of  "  Little  Men,"  and  "  Little  Wo- 
men," "  An  Old  Fashioned  Girl,"  "  A  Summer  in 
Leslie  Goldthwaite's  Life,"  and  even  "  Pussy 
Willow."  Evidently  some  of  the  contrasts 
which  surprised  those  who  knew  him  in  man- 
hood began  to  show  themselves  in  his  earliest 


8         ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

boyhood.  Our  Young  Folks  he  believed  was 
the  very  best  magazine  in  the  world,  and  this 
belief  of  his  boyhood  remained  with  him  un- 
changed throughout  his  whole  life,  for  he  wrote 
in  his  autobiography,  "  I  seriously  doubt  if  any 
magazine  for  old  or  young  has  ever  surpassed 
it."  "  Cooper's  Leatherstocking  Tales "  were, 
perhaps,  the  most  greedily  devoured  books  of  all. 
Many  years  later  his  friend  Jacob  Riis  once 
asked  him  if  he  liked  them. 

"  Like  them !  "  he  exclaimed,  with  kindling 
eyes.  "  Like  them !  Why  man,  there's  nothing 
to  compare  with  them.  I  could  pass  an  examina- 
tion in  the  whole  of  them  to-day.  Deerslayer 
with  his  long  rifle,  Jasper  and  Hurry  Harry,  Ish- 
mael  Bush  with  his  seven  stalwart  sons  —  do  I 
not  know  them?  I  have  bunked  with  them  and 
eaten  with  them,  and  I  know  their  strength  and 
their  weakness.  They  were  narrow  and  hard, 
but  they  did  the  work  of  their  day  and  opened 
the  way  for  ours.  Do  I  like  them?  Cooper  is 
unique  in  American  literature,  and  he  will  grow 
upon  us  as  we  get  farther  away  from  his  day,  let 
the  critics  say  what  they  will." 

The  earliest  assertive  interest  of  Theodore's 
\  childhood   and   the   one   which    remained   most 
|  strongly  and  persistently  with  him  through  all 
•  his  life  was  his  interest  in  natural  history.     Jacob 
Riis  tells  of  the  "  little  lad,  in  stiff  white  petti- 
coats, with  a  curl  right  on  top  of  his  head,  toil- 
ing laboriously  along  with  a  big  fat  volume  un- 
der his  arm,  '  David  Livingstone's  Travels  and 
Researches  in  South  Africa,'  and  demanding  of 
every  member  of  the  family  to  be  told  what  were 


A  TWICE-BORN  BOY  9 

'  the  foraging  ants '  and  what  they  did.  It  was 
his  sister,  now  Mrs.  Cowles,  who  at  last,  in  ex- 
asperation, sat  down  to  investigate,  that  the  busi- 
ness of  the  family  might  have  a  chance  to  pro- 
ceed, for  baby  Theodore  held  it  up  mercilessly 
until  his  thirst  for  information  was  slaked. 
Whereupon  it  developed  that  the  supposedly 
grim  warriors  of  the  ant-hill  were  really  a  blame- 
less tribe  — '  the  foregoing  ants/  in  fact." 

The  first  real  enterprise  in  his  natural  history 
career  was  launched  when  Theodore  was  nine 
years  old.  He  saw  laid  out  on  a  slab  of  wood  in 
the  open  market  a  dead  seal  which  had  been  caught 
in  the  harbor.  All  his  imagination  and  love  of 
adventure  blazed  up  at  the  sight  of  this  seal  which 
seemed  to  give  realism  to  the  stories  he  had  read. 
He  paid  daily  visits  to  the  market  as  long  as  the 
seal  remained  on  exhibition.  He  measured  it, 
and  preserved  a  record  of  the  measurement.  He 
longed  to  own  that  seal  and  preserve  it,  but  suc- 
ceeded only  in  obtaining  the  skull  when  the  rest 
of  the  carcass  was  disposed  of.  Then  with  two 
of  his  cousins  he  started  the  "  Roosevelt  Museum 
of  Natural  History,"  a  highly  worthy  institution 
which  was  soon  banished,  by  request  of  the  cham- 
bermaid, from  the  naturalist's  bedroom  to  a  set  of 
shelves  in  the  back  hall  upstairs.  "  It  was  the 
ordinary  small  boy's  collection  of  curios,"  he  tells 
us,  "  quite  incongruous  and  entirely  valueless 
except  from  the  standpoint  of  the  boy  himself. 
My  father  and  mother  encouraged  me  warmly  in 
this,  as  they  always  did  in  anything  that  could 
give  me  wholesome  pleasure  or  help  to  develop 
me." 


io        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

The  interest  stimulated  by  the  seal  and  by  the 
museum  foundation  was  quickly  expressed  in 
literary  effort.  He  began  to  write  a  natural  his- 
tory of  his  own  in  a  small  blank  book.  The  title 
page  announced :  "  Natural  history  on  insects. 
By  Theodore  Roosevelt,  Jr."  A  "  Preface " 
gives  the  scope  and  exclusiveness  of  the  contents  : 
"  All  these  insects  are  native  of  North  America. 
Most  of  the  insects  are  not  in  other  books.  I  will 
write  about  ants  first."  Here  is  the  contribution 
to  the  world's  knowledge  of  hymenoptera :  • 

£'  Ants  are  derided  into  three  sorts  for  every 
species.  These  kinds  are  officers,  soilders  and 
work.  There  are  about  one  officer  to  ten  soilders, 
and  one  soilder  to  two  workers."  Information 
follows  regarding  the  common  black  ant,  the 
brown  path  ant,  and  other  kinds.  Then  come 
notes  on  spiders,  lady-bugs,  fireflies,  horned 
"  beetles,"  dragon-flies,  and  "  misqueto  "  hawks. 
"  All  the  insects  that  I  write  about  in  this  book  in- 
habbit  North  America."  He  does  not  forget  due 
acknowledgment  of  indebtedness  for  information. 
"  Now  and  then,"  he  writes  "  a  friend  has  told  me 
something  about  them  but  mostly  I  have  gained 
their  babbits  from  observ-a-jtion."  Exercising  an 
author's  freedom,  he  includes  in  his  volume  on 
insects  a  few  notes  on  fishes :  "  I  need  not  describe 
the  form  of  the  crayfish  to  you,"  he  assures  the 
reader ;  "  look  at  a  lobster  and  you  have  its 
form."  Further  "  observ-a-tion  "  leads  him  to 
write,  "  the  minnow  is  found  in  brooks  in 
the  same  parts  as  the  crayfish  and  eel.  It  eats 
worms,  catipallars,  egg,  bread,  anything  in  fact. 


A  TWICE-BORN  BOY  n 

It  swims  quite  swiftly.  It  is  about  seven  inches 
long  when  full  grown." 

The  most  interesting  specimen  in  his  book  is 
thus  described  near  the  end :  "  P.  S.  My  home  is 
in  North  Amer-i-ca.  All  these  stories  were  gained 
by  observation.  Age.  Nine  years.  Born  28th 
of  October." 

The  love  of  natural  history  was  not  a  mere 
boy's  whim  to  be  forgotten  when  new  interests 
developed.  It  was  a  growing  passion,  and  settled 
into  an  earnest  study,  encouraged  in  every 
reasonable  way  by  sympathetic  parents.  For 
some  time,  until  nearly  thirteen  years  of  age, 
Theodore  was  greatly  hindered  in  studying 
nature,  quite  unknown  to  himself,  because  he 
was  so  near-sighted  that  he  could  study  only  the 
things  that  came  to  him  without  searching. 
When  he  discovered  his  defect  and  spoke  about  it 
to  his  father,  who,  it  would  seem,  ought  to  have 
discovered  it  earlier,  a  pair  of  spectacles  opened  a 
wonderful  new  world  to  the  enthusiastic  young 
naturalist,  and  he  made  more  rapid  progress  in  all 
his  studies. 

Three  years  before  this  opening  of  new  win- 
dows to  the  world  about  him,  young  Roosevelt 
had  visited  Europe  with  his  parents,  and  "  cordi- 
ally hated  "  the  experience,  seeing  nothing  to  in- 
terest him,  suffering  much  homesickness,  and 
gaining  no  improvement  in  health.  In  1872, 
when  he  went  for  a  second  overseas  trip  to  spend 
a  winter  in  Egypt,  all  was  different.  He  thor- 
oughly enjoyed  the  journeyings  up  the  Nile, 
through  the  Holy  Land,  and  part  of  Syria,  with 


12        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

visits  to  Greece1  and  Constantinople.  Here  in 
Egypt  he  had  abundant  opportunity  to  indulge  in 
natural  history  study  and  specimen  collecting  to 
his  heart's  content,  and  he  made  the  fullest  use 
of  his  opportunity,  sometimes  to  the  embarrass- 
ment of  other  members  of  his  party.  His  bed- 
rooms in  the  various  hotels  were  turned  into 
taxidermy  laboratories  and  reduced  to  wild  con- 
fusion. His  brother  Elliott,  the  embodiment  of 
neatness,  says  Hermann  Hagedorn,  ventured,  on 
one  occasion,  to  inquire  of  his  father  whether  it 
would  be  altogether  too  extravagant  if  he  should 
be  given,  now  and  then,  a  room  to  himself  in 
hotels  and  he  explained  his  request  by  leading  his 
father  to  the  room  occupied  by  the  two  brothers. 

,  "  There  were  bottles  on  the  tables  and  the  chairs ; 
there  were  bottles  on  the  mantel  and  the  wash- 
stand.  Clothes  were  everywhere  they  happened 
to  fall,  and  in  the  basin  were  the  entrails  of  ani- 
mals recently  deceased."  Meanwhile  the  wealth  of 
the  "  Roosevelt  Museum  of  Natural  History " 
grew  apace. 

Born  with  an  active  mind,  eager,  alert,  search- 
ing for  knowledge  in  printed  books  and  in  the 
greatest  of  all  books  —  the  inexhaustible  book  of 
nature,  the  boy  Roosevelt  seemed  ready  for  de- 
velopment into  the  larger  life  ahead  of  him.  But 
he  had  not  been  born  with  a  strong  body  or  vigo- 
rous constitution.  He  was  sickly  and  delicate, 
undersized,  "  pig-chested  and  asthmatic."  Again 
and  again  his  parents  had  to  take  him  away  on 

.  trips  to  find  a  place  where  he  could  breathe. 
Among  his  earliest  memories  he  tells  of  his 
"  father  walking  up  and  down  the  room  with  me 


A  TWICE-BORN  BOY  13 

in  his  arms  at  night  when  I  was  a  very  small 
person,  and  of  sitting  up  in  bed  gasping,  with  my 
father  and  mother  trying  to  help  me."  On  other 
long,  sleepless  nights,  says  another  friend,  "  the 
father  would  take  his  invalid  boy  in  his  arms, 
wrap  him  up  warmly  and  drive  with  him  in  the 
free  open  air  through  fifteen  or  twenty  miles  of 
darkness." 

His  first  trip  to  Europe,  in  1869,  was  planned 
in  the  hope  that  it  would  benefit  his  health,  wrote 
one  of  his  first  biographers,  James  Morgan.  "  A 
tall,  thin  lad  with  bright  eyes  and  legs  like  pipe 
stems,"  he  was  at  that  time.  But  the  hoped  for 
benefit  was  not  gained,  and  four  years  later,  in  re- 
newed anxiety  on  account  of  his  weakened  lungs, 
the  family  took  him  away  to  spend  the  winter  in 
the  warm  African  air.  This  winter's  trip  meant 
more  to  the  ambitious  boy  than  merely  an  oppor- 
tunity to  hunt  natural  history  specimens  and  fill 
his  hotel  bedrooms  with  the  unsavory  parapher- 
nalia of  taxidermy.  During  the  summer  of  that 
year  he  had  been  striving  to  be  born  again. 
Hermann  Hagedorn  in  his  "  Boy's  Life  of  Theo- 
dore Roosevelt,"  x  tells  the  story  of  what  might 
be  called  this  second  birth  by  which  the  immor- 
tality of  the  boy's  conquering  spirit  began  to  put 
on  the  mortality  of  a  sound  body: 

"  In  all  his  reading  he  enjoyed  with  special  zest 
the  old  epics.  They  thrilled  him.  The  heroes  of 
the  ballads  were  still  his  heroes.  More  and 
more  ardently  he  wanted  to  be  like  them. 

"  And  then  something  happened.  For,  one 
day,  he  picked  up  the  Dramatic  Romances  of 

1  Copyright,  1918,  by  Harper  &  Brothers. 


14        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

Browning  and  read  '  The  Flight  of  the  Duchess  " ; 
and  he  had  not  read  far  before  he  came  on  a  de- 
scription of  a  young  duke,  a  poor  sprig  of  a  grand 
line: 

" '  the  pertest  little  ape 
That  ever  affronted  human  shape ; ' 

and  this  was  the  duke's  ambition : 

" '  All  that  the  old  Dukes  had  been  without  knowing  it, 
This  Duke  would  fain  know  he  was  without  being  it.' 

In  other  words,  the  duke  admired  his  ancestors 
and  wanted  to  appear  to  be  like  them  without 
making  any  effort  actually  to  be  like  them. 

"  Those  lines  pulled  Theodore  Roosevelt  up 
sharp,  like  a  lasso.  He  felt  that  the  resemblance 
between  that  young  duke  and  himself  was  close 
enough  to  be  disquieting.  He  felt  discovered ;  he 
felt  ashamed.  He,  too,  had  had  his  heroes.  He 
had  wanted  to  be  like  those  heroes;  or  had  he 
wanted  merely  to  appear  to  be  like  them? 

"  Those  lines  made  him  unhappy.  They  pur- 
sued him,  taunting  him.  Then  one  day  he  sud- 
denly discovered  that  a  new  resolve  had  taken 
shape  in  him.  There  was  no  harm  in  dreaming, 
but  henceforth  he  would  not  be  satisfied  unless, 
even  while  he  dreamed,  he  labored  to  translate 
the  dream  into  action. 

"  That  was  a  very  important  resolve.  It  gave 
Theodore  Roosevelt  back  his  peace  of  mind  and 
set  his  face  in  the  direction  of  the  high  road. 

"  It  was  not  long  after  this  new  resolve  had 
taken  root  in  him  that  chance  or  destiny  or  the 
good  Lord,  who  likes  to  test  the  vitality  of  the 
good  resolutions  that  boys  make,  put  Theodore 


A  TWICE-BORN  BOY  15 

Roosevelt's  high  sounding  decision  to  the  test. 

"  He  was,  even  at  thirteen,  a  timid  boy,  as  chil- 
dren who  are  frail  physically  are  apt  to  be.     He 
had  not  had  enough   rough  contact  with  boys 
to  become  accustomed  to  being  hurt,  and  to  give 
blows  and  take  punishment  as  a  matter  of  course  ; 
and  his  younger  brother  Elliott,   who  suffered 
from  none  of  the  ailments  which  pursued  Theo- 
dore,   had    in    consequence    been    his    protector 
against  bullies  more  than  once.     It  happened,  in  / 
the  summer  of  '72,  however,  that  certain  bullies  I 
descended  on  Theodore  at  a  time  when  Elliott  { 
was  a  little  more  than  five  hundred  miles  away. 

"  Theodore  had  been  suffering  more  than  usual 
from  asthma  and  had  been  sent  to  Moosehead 
Lake  in  Maine  in  the  hope  that  the  clear,  crisp 
air  would  give  him  relief.  The  last  lap  of  the 
journey  was  by  stage-coach,  and  on  the  coach 
with  Theodore  were  two  boys  who  were  not  slow 
in  discovering  that  here  was  a  victim  sent  to  them 
from  on  high.  They  were  not  really  bullies,  but 
they  were  strong,  wholesome  mischievous  boys, 
and  Theodore  was  just  a  gift  to  them  to  break  the 
tedium  of  the  journey.  They  proceeded  forth- 
with to  make  him  miserable,  and  succeeded.  He 
endured  their  attention  as  long  as  he  could ;  then 
he  tried  to  fight. 

"  He  was  plucky,  without  question.  Perhaps 
he  had  visions  of  perishing  nobly  against  over- 
whelming odds.  But  no  such  fate  was  his.  The 
boys  took  him  singly  and  handled  him  like  a  kit- 
ten. And  the  worst  of  it  all  was,  they  did  not 
even  really  hurt  him.  They  didn't  have  to,  he 
was  so  easy  to  handle. 


i6       ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

"  Theodore  Roosevelt  spent  his  time  at  Moose- 
head  Lake  thinking  this  over.  He  remembered 
the  deeds  of  the  men  he  most  admired,  the  men 
he  wanted  most  to  be  like.  And  then  he  thought 
of  the  silly  duke;  and  of  something  his  father 
had  recently  said  to  him  '  You  have  the  mind,  but 
you  haven't  the  body.  It  is  hard  work  to  build  up 
the  body.' 

"  He  remembered  certain  tiresome  exercises  his 
father  had  persuaded  him  to  go  through  daily  in 
the  gymnasium  on  the  third  floor.  And  then  he 
thought  of  his  resolution. 

"  He  made  up  his  mind  then  and  there  that  if 
he  was  ever  to  be  anything  but  a  parody  of  the 
heroes  of  his  dreams,  he  must  first  make  him- 
self fit  physically  to  bear  what  they  had  borne,  to 
fight  as  they  had  fought. 

"  He  decided  to  take  boxing-lessons. 

"  This  was  a  praiseworthy  decision ;  but  what 
was  really  praiseworthy  was  the  fact  that  when 
he  returned  to  New  York  he  confided  the  whole 
matter  to  his  father,  and,  with  the  elder  Theodore 
Roosevelt's  enthusiastic  approval,  sought  out  a 
certain  John  Long,  an  ex-prize  fighter,  and  dog- 
gedly set  to  work." 

The  loving  help  of  his  parents  constantly  sup- 
ported him  in  his  determination  to  be  strong. 
A  gymnasium  was  fitted  up  for  him  on  the  wide 
back  porch  of  the  Twentieth  Street  house,  and 
there  he  worked  with  enthusiasm  to  develop  his 
muscles.  Later,  in  the  new  house  at  8  West 
Fifty-Seventh  Street,  to  which  the  family  moved 
after  returning  from  Europe  in  the  autumn  of 
1873,  he  was  given  a  better  gymnasium,  where  he 


A  TWICE-BORN  BOY  17 

"  chinned  himself  and  struggled  with  the  parallel 
bars  patiently  day  after  day."  He  kept  up  his 
boxing  and  wrestling  persistently  and  "gradu- 
ally became,  not  a  champion,  even  among  boys  of 
his  own  age,  but  an  average  boxer,  able  in  emer- 
gency to  defend  himself  even  against  opponents 
physically  more  powerful  than  himself.  Once,  in 
a  series  of  '  championship '  matches  held  by  his 
teacher,  the  ex-prize  fighter,  he  did  win  a  pewter 
cup  in  the  light-weight  contest.  That  was  not 
much,  but  Theodore  thought  that  it  was  decidedly 
better  than  being  tossed  about  like  a  fuzzyrabbit 
by  a  couple  of  boys  at  Moosehead  Lake." 

Every  day  this  growing  youth,  drinking  eagerly 
from  every  cup  of  knowledge,  alert  and  sensitive 
to  every  new  fact  and  impression,  full  of  energy, 
and  dreaming  dreams,  like  the  young  herdsman, 
Joseph,  became  increasingly  aware  of  the  strug- 
gles he  must  win  if  he  would  translate  his  dreams 
into  reality.  He  was  not  gifted  mentally,  except 
with  desire,  power  of  concentration,  and  a  good 
memory.  Very  likely  thousands  of  boys  living  in 
his  time  were  more  brilliantly  endowed,  but 
"  Theodore  Roosevelt  had,  which  most  of  the 
others  had  not,  a  deep  hunger  to  excel,  to  be  of 
the  fellowship  of  great  deeds.  With  it,  vague  at 
first  but  increasingly  clear,  came  the  recognition 
that  men  attain  only  through  endless  struggle 
against  the  sloth,  the  impurity,  the  fears,  the 
doubts,  the  false  content  in  their  own  hearts.  He 
determined  to  build  up  for  himself  a  clean 
valiant,  fighting  soul." 

Out  of  his  own  boyhood  struggles,  out  of  the 
travail  of  his  slow  birth  from  weakness  into 


i8        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

bodily  vigor,  out  of  his  own  victories  he  was 
able  to  formulate  his  famous  rule  for  the  genuine 
American  boy : 

"  The  chances  are  strong  that  he  won't  be 
much  of  a  man  unless  he  is  a  good  deal  of  a  boy. 
He  must  not  be  a  coward  or  a  weakling,  a  bully, 
a  shirk  or  a  prig.  He  must  work  hard  and  play 
hard.  He  must  be  clean-minded  and  clean-lived, 
and  able  to  hold  his  own  under  all  circumstances 
and  against  all  comers.  In  life,  as  in  football, 
the  principle  to  follow  is :  Hit  the  line  hard ;  don't 
foul  and  don't  shirk,  but  hit  the  line  hard." 

"Go  on  and  increase  in  valor,  O  boy! 
This  is  the  path  to  immortality." 

Virgil  —  ^Eneid. 


CHAPTER  II 

COLLEGE   AND   GROWTH 

THE  slim  youth  with  narrow  shoulders  and 
flat  chest  and  rather  delicate  in  health  who  en- 
tered Harvard  in  1876  gave  little  hint  that  he 
would  become  the  most  rugged  and  impressive 
figure  of  his  time.  Of  all  the  men  in  the  class 
of  '80,  so  his  classmates  have  testified,  Theodore 
Roosevelt  was  the  last  one  they  would  have 
picked  out  as  destined  for  greatness.  He  studied 
hard  and  never  loafed,  but  found  little  in  his 
actual  studies  which  interested  him  deeply  or 
helped  him  in  his  later  life.  This  is  his  own  testi- 
mony. Yet  he  thoroughly  enjoyed  his  four  years 
at  Harvard  and  believed  they  did  him  good  in 


COLLEGE  AND  GROWTH  ig 

their  general  effect.  He  had  no  idea,  at  that 
time,  of  entering  public  life,  and  did  not  study 
elocution  nor  practice  debating.  He  regretted, 
later  on,  that  he  had  not  equipped  himself  with 
some  knowledge  of  elocution,  but  he  never  ceased 
to  be  glad  that  he  did  not  take  part  in  the  con- 
ventional debates.  The  reason  he  gives  in  his 
autobiography  is  worthy  of  serious  consideration 
by  young  men  of  to-day :  "  Personally  I  have  not 
the  slightest  sympathy  with  debating  contests  in 
which  each  side  is  arbitrarily  assigned  a  given 
proposition  and  told  to  maintain  it  without  the 
least  reference  to  whether  those  maintaining  it 
believe  in  it  or  not.  I  know  that  under  our 
system  this  is  necessary  for  lawyers,  but  I  em- 
phatically disbelieve  in  it  as  regards  general  dis- 
cussion of  political,  social,  and  industrial  mat- 
ters. What  we  need  is  to  turn  out  of  our  col- 
leges young  men  with  ardent  convictions  on  the 
side  of  the  right;  not  young  men  who  can  make 
a  good  argument  for  either  right  or  wrong  as 
their  interest  bids  them.  The  present  method  of 
carrying  on  debates  on  such  subjects  as  '  Our 
Colonial  Policy,'  or  '  The  Need  of  a  Navy,'  or 
'  The  Proper  Position  of  the  Courts  in  Constitu- 
tional Questions,'  encourages  precisely  the 
wrong  attitude  among  those  who  take  part  in 
them.  There  is  no  effort  to  instill  sincerity  and 
intensity  of  conviction.  On  the  contrary,  the 
net  result  is  to  make  the  contestants  feel  that 
their  convictions  have  nothing  to  do  with  their 
arguments.  I  am  sorry  I  did  not  study  elocu- 
tion in  college;  but  I  am  exceedingly  glad  that  I 
did  not  take  part  in  the  type  of  debate  in  which 


20        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

stress  is  laid,  not  upon  getting  a  speaker  to  think 
rightly,  but  on  getting  him  to  talk  glibly  on  the 
side  to  which  he  is  assigned,  without  regard 
either  to  what  his  convictions  are  or  to  what  they 
ought  to  be." 

/  Having  no  thought  of  public  life,  he  turned,  as 
(  a  matter  of  course  to  natural  science  as  his  choice 
j  of  a  career.  His  father,  from  the  very  begin- 
ning of  his  training,  had  fixed  in  his  mind  the 
knowledge  that  he  was  to  work  out  his  own  des- 
tiny and  make  his  own  way  in  the  world.  This 
at  first  seemed  to  mean  a  business  career,  but  dur- 
ing his  freshman  year,  his  father  told  him  that 
he  was  perfectly  free  to  become  a  scientific  man 
if  he  wished.  The  one  condition  insisted  upon 
was  that  he  must  be  very  sure  that  he  intensely 
desired  to  do  scientific  work  and  would  go  into 
it  with  the  determination  to  do  the  very  best  work 
there  was  in  him.  Together  with  this  condi- 
tion went  a  sound  piece  of  advice  which  the  obe- 
dient son  declares  he  always  remembered.  Here 
(is  the  way  he  tells  it:  "If  I  was  not  going  to 
earn  money,  I  must  even  things  up  by  not  spend- 
ing it.  As  he  expressed  it,  I  had  to  keep  the 
fraction  constant,  and  if  I  was  not  able  to  in- 
crease the  numerator,  then  I  must  reduce  the 
denominator.  In  other  words,  if  I  went  into  a 
scientific  career,  I  must  definitely  abandon  all 
thoughts  of  the  enjoyment  that  would  accom- 
pany a  money-making  career,  and  must  find  my 
pleasures  elsewhere."  ^Thereupon  he  immedi- 

,      ately  decided  to  make  science  his  life  work,  but 
abandoned  the  idea  when  he  found  that  his  col- 

\     lege    preparation   was    restricted    too    much    to 

\ 


COLLEGE  AND  GROWTH  21 

laboratory  and  microscopic  study  and  section- 
cutting,  with  none  of  the  outdoor  search  and  ob- 
servation to  which  his  taste  ran. 

The  lesson  in  economy  was  not  thrown  away 
however.  Indeed,  all  his  boyhood  struggles  and 
ideals  had  tended  to  simple  tastes  and  freedom 
from  ostentation.  He  might  easily  have  lived 
in  luxurious  style  at  Harvard,  but  he  took,  in- 
stead, two  modest  rooms  in  the  residence  of 
Benjamin  H.  Richardson  on  Winthrop  Street, 
and  occupied  them  during  all  the  four  years  at 
college.  He  fitted  them  up  to  suit  his  own 
taste,  covering  the  walls  with  many  pictures  and 
photographs,  foils,  boxing-gloves,  and  horns  of 
wild  animals.  Birds  which  he  had  stuffed  stood 
on  the  shelves,  and  everywhere  were  books. 

As  a  student  he  won  no  special  honors,  but  he 
became  very  popular  with  his  classmates,  and 
quickly  became  a  member  of  all  the  best  clubs 
and  societies  in  the  college.  He  was  one  of  the 
few  chosen  from  his  class  for  the  institute  of 
1770,  the  Porcellian,  and  the  Alpha  Delta  Phi. 
In  the  famous  old  Hasty  Pudding  Club  he  was 
elected  secretary.  The  social  circles  of  Boston 
and  Cambridge  welcomed  him,  but  they  had  less 
attraction  for  him  than  the  more  vigorous  activi- 
ties of  the  gymnasium  and  the  rivalry  of  his 
fellows  in  manly  sports.  His  classmates  often 
laughed  at  his  eccentricities,  his  enthusiasm,  and 
his  fondness  for  Elizabethan  poetry,  but  they 
respected  him,  and  what  he  did  was  very  likely 
to  set  the  style.  For  example,  as  a  part  of  his 
persistent  training  to  make  himself  strong,  he 
took  to  skipping  the  rope  in  order  to  develop  the 


22        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

muscles  of  his  legs.     Very  soon  others  copied 
I  the  habit  from  him  and  rope  skipping  became,  for 
awhile,  one  of  the  favorite  exercises  of  the  class 
of  '80. 

To  wrestling,  as  a  vigorous  and  profitable  ex- 
ercise, he  gave  close  and  scientific  attention,  but 
boxing  was  his  chief  sport  at  Harvard.  "  His 
delicate  appearance  amazed  those  who  saw  him 
make  his  first  ventures  with  the  gloves  in  the 
gymnasium,"  says  James  Morgan  in  his  book, 
"  Theodore  Roosevelt,  the  Boy  and  the  Man."  1 
"  He  weighed  only  one  hundred  and  thirty  and 
was  a  very  doubtful  looking  entry  in  the  light- 
weight class.  Besides,  he  had  to  go  into  combat 
with  a  pair  of  big  spectacles  lashed  to  his  head,  a 
bad  handicap,  which  put  his  eyesight  in  peril 
every  time  he  boxed.  To  offset  this  disadvan- 
tage, he  aimed  to  lead  swiftly  and  heavily  and 
thus  put  his  opponent  on  the  defensive  from  the 
start. 

"  Not  a  few  old  Harvard  men  recall  a  char- 
acteristic instance  of  Roosevelt's  sportsmanlike 
bearing.  He  was  in  the  midst  of  a  hot  en- 
counter when  time  was  called.  He  promptly 
dropped  his  hands  to  his  side,  whereupon  his  an- 
tagonist dealt  him  a  heavy  blow  squarely  on  his 
nose.  There  was  an  instant  cry  of  '  Foul ! 
Foul ! '  from  the  sympathetic  onlookers,  and  a 
scene  of  noisy  excitement  followed.  Above  the 
uproar,  Roosevelt,  his  face  covered  with  blood, 
was  heard  shouting  at  the  top  of  his  voice,  as  he 
ran  toward  the  referee,  '  Stop !  Stop !  he  didn't 

1  Copyright,  1907,  1919,  by  The  Mactnillan  Co. 


COLLEGE  AND  GROWTH  23 

hear !  he  didn't  hear ! '  Then  he  shook  the  hand 
of  the  other  youth  warmly,  and  the  emotion  of 
the  little  crowd  changed  from  scorn  of  his  op- 
ponent to  admiration  for  him." 

In  his  boxing  bouts  Roosevelt  never  looked 
for  the  easy  places.  If  his  opponent  chanced 
to  be  the  champion  of  the  class  double  his  own 
weight  and  size,  he  welcomed  the  battle  with  all 
the  more  delight.  The  hardest  pummeling  he 
took  with  hearty  good  nature  and  refused  to  cry 
quarter,  pushing  his  fight  home  in  a  way  which 
made  even  the  victors  know  that  they  had  met 
a  real  fighter. 

Jacob  Riis  tells  a  story  which  he  heard  and 
believes  of  how  Roosevelt  beat  up  a  man  with 
the  reputation  of  a  fighter  but  without  the  in- 
stincts of  a  gentleman.  The  fellow  took  a  mean 
advantage  and  struck  a  blow  that  drew  blood 
before  Roosevelt  had  finished  putting  on  his 
gloves.  The  by-standers  cried  foul,  but  Roose- 
velt smiled  one  of  his  grim  smiles.  "  I  guess 
you  made  a  mistake.  We  do  not  do  that  way 
here,"  he  said,  offering  the  other  man  his  gloved 
hand  in  formal  salutation  as  a  sign  to  begin  hos- 
tilities. The  next  minute  his  right  shot  out  and 
took  the  man  on  the  point  of  his  jaw,  and  the 
left  followed  suit.  In  two  minutes  he  was  down 
and  out.  Roosevelt  was  "  in  form "  that  day. 
All  the  fighting  blood  in  him  had  been  roused  by 
the  unfairness  of  the  blow. 

His  interest  in  wrestling  and  boxing  led  him 
to  help  some  of  his  classmates  on  occasions,  and 
he  would  not  tolerate  anything  which  violated 
fair  play.  It  happened,  during  his  sophomore 


24        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

year,  that  some'  one  entered  the  name  of  his 
classmate  William  A.  Gaston,  in  a  wrestling 
match  in  the  college  games  without  Gaston's 
knowledge.  George  William  Douglas  tells  the 
story  in  "  The  Many-sided  Roosevelt."  Gaston 
did  not  learn  that  he  was  entered  until  a  few 
days  before  the  match  was  to  come  off,  and 
wished  to  withdraw,  but  Roosevelt  persuaded 
him  to  stay  in,  promising  to  coach.  Accord- 
ingly Roosevelt  hunted  up  fellows  to  wrestle  with 
Gaston,  rubbed  him  down  after  the  bouts,  and  in 
general  acted  as  his  trainer.  One  Saturday  Gas- 
ton  met  four  other  men  in  the  gymnasium  to  be 
"  tried  out."  He  threw  two  of  them  twice,  one 
of  them  once,  and  was  thrown  twice  by  the  other 
one.  In  the  final  matches  the  victor  had  to  throw 
his  opponent  twice  out  of  three  times.  The 
rules,  however,  were  rather  loose  then,  as  athletic 
sports  were  not  in  the  present  highly  organized 
condition.  In  a  day  or  two  Roosevelt  and  Gas- 
ton  learned  that  the  latter  had  been  put  on  the 
final  program  to  wrestle  with  the  man  whom  he 
had  thrown  once,  as  though  this  man  were  a  new 
candidate.  This  did  not  seem  fair  either  to  the 
wrestler  or  to  his  trainer,  and  they  decided  to 
enter  a  protest. 

As  they  were  about  to  appear  before  the  ath- 
letic committee  Roosevelt  said : 

"  You  are  too  hot-headed,  Gaston,  to  state  the 
case.  What  it  needs  is  cold,  hard  logic.  Let 
me  present  the  case  calmly,  and  then  we  shall  be 
more  likely  to  win.  They  can't  help  seeing  how 
unjust  it  is  to  make  you  throw  that  man  three 


COLLEGE  AND  GROWTH  2$ 

times,  when  he  will  win  if  he  throws  you  only 
twice." 

Roosevelt  accordingly  stated  the  case,  begin- 
ning with  an  assumption  of  judicial  calm,  but 
before  he  got  through  with  the  discussion  he  had 
threatened  to  thrash  two  of  the  members  of  the 
committee.  The  outcome,  however,  was  as  he 
had  predicted.  The  committee  saw  the  force  of 
his  arguments  and  the  program  was  changed. 

Roosevelt  had  considerable  faith  in  Gaston's 
ability,  for  he  backed  him  in  a  sparring  bout  with 
Ramon  Guiteras,  the  champion  middle-weight  of 
the  college.  Guiteras  was  large  and  heavy,  too 
heavy,  indeed,  for  his  class,  and  Gaston  was  a 
light-weight,  and  under  weight  at  that.  Roose- 
velt believed  that  Gaston's  grit  and  perseverance 
would  win  over  the  other  man's  greater  weight. 
The  series  of  bouts  in  which  this  match  occurred 
attracted  a  good  deal  of  attention.  Interest  cen- 
tered especially  in  this  bout  between  the  light- 
weight and  the  middle-weight.  And  there  was 
much  gratification  among  their  friends  when 
Roosevelt's  judgment  was  vindicated  by  Gas- 
ton's  victory. 

Other  things  than  games  and  exercise  attracted 
Roosevelt's  attention  while  at  Harvard.  His 
father  had  been  active  in  the  work  of  public  aid. 
He  died  while  the  boy  was  at  college,  and  young 
Theodore  sought  to  walk  in  his  footsteps.  He 
became  Secretary  of  the  Prison  Reform  Associa- 
tion and  acted  on  several  committees.  In  addi- 
tion he  became  a  teacher  in  a  Sunday-school. 
His  family  faith  was  the  Dutch  Reformed,  but 


25        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

he  found  no  church  of  that  denomination  at 
Cambridge,  and  drifted  into  a  mission  school  of 
the  high  church  of  Episcopalian  faith. 

He  did  not  stay  there  long.  One  day  a  boy 
came  to  his  class  with  a  black  eye.  He  ac- 
knowledged that  he  got  it  in  a  fight,  and  that,  too, 
on  Sunday.  The  teacher  questioned  him  sternly. 
The  fact  came  out  that  Jim,  the  other  boy,  had 
sat  beside  the  lad's  sister  and  had  pinched  her  all 
through  the  school  hour.  A  fight  followed,  in 
which  Jim  was  soundly  punched,  the  avenger  of 
his  sister  coming  out  with  a  black  eye. 

"  You  did  just  right,"  was  Roosevelt's  ver- 
dict, and  he  gave  the  young  champion  a  dollar. 

This  pleased  the  class  highly.  It  appealed  to 
them  as  justice.  But  when  it  got  out  among  the 
school  officers  they  were  scandalized.  Roosevelt 
•was  already  a  black  sheep  among  them  in  other 
ways.  He  did  not  observe  the  formalities  of  the 
high  church  service  as  they  thought  he  should. 
They  asked  if  he  had  any  objection  to  them. 
None  in  the  world,  but  —  he  was  Dutch  Re- 
formed. This  did  not  help  matters  and  in  the 
end  Roosevelt  left  this  field  of  labor  and  entered 
a  Congregational  Sunday-school  near  by,  where 
he  taught  during  the  remainder  of  his  college 
term. 

In  the  first  year  of  his  college  life,  Roosevelt 
met  a  man  who  made  a  lasting  impression  on  his 
life.  His  friend  and  tutor,  Arthur  Cutler,  had 
been  hunting  in  the  Maine  woods,  the  year  be- 
fore, with  Emlin  Roosevelt,  Theodore's  cousin, 
and  Bill  Sewall  of  Island  Falls  was  their  guide. 
Cutler  was  greatly  taken  with  the  stalwart,  warm- 


COLLEGE  AND  GROWTH  27 

hearted  woodsman,  and  he  urged  Theodore  to  go 
with  him  the  next  year,  partly  for  the  sake  of 
the  tramping,  hunting  and  mountain  climbing,  but 
more  than  all  that  for  the  sake  of  knowing  Bill 
Sewall. 

Cutler  had  warned  Sewall  in  advance  of  the 
irrepressible  youth  who  was  to  be  his  companion. 
"  I  want  you  to  take  good  care  of  this  young 
fellow,"  he  told  him,  "  for  he's  ambitious  and  not 
very  strong.  He'll  never  tell  you  when  he's 
tired ;  but  he'll  just  break  down.  You  can't  take 
him  on  all  the  tramps  you  take  us." 

Sewall  gave  silent  assent,  and  apparently  the 
caution  slipped  his  mind,  for  very  shortly  after 
the  conversation  he  started  off  with  Roosevelt  for 
a  tramp  which  covered  a  good  twenty-five  miles 
— "  a  good,  fair  walk  for  any  common  man,"  said 
Sewall.  Never  a  word  of  complaint  came  from 
Roosevelt,  and  Sewall  concluded  that  the  young 
man,  notwithstanding  his  asthma,  was  far  from 
a  weakling.  He  had  been  receiving  impressions 
of  his  own,  and  told  his  nephew,  Wilmot  Dow,  a 
few  days  later  that  young  Roosevelt  was  "  differ- 
ent from  any  human  being  he  had  ever  met.  He 
wouldn't  let  any  one  else  lug  his  gun,  or  help 
him  out  in  any  way.  He  never  shirked  his  share 
of  anything,  no  matter  how  played  out  he  might 
be.  The  boy  has  grit  clean  through."  A  long 
time  afterwards  Bill  Sewall  spoke  with  still  more 
emphasis,  as  quoted  by  Hermann  Hagedorn : 
"  We  hitched  up  well,  somehow  or  other,  from 
the  start.  He  was  fair-minded,  Theodore  was. 
And  then  he  took  pains  to  learn  everything. 
There  was  nothing  beneath  his  notice.  I  liked 


28        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

him  right  off.  J  liked  him  clean  through. 
There  wasn't  a  quality  in  him  I  didn't  like.  He 
wasn't  headlong  or  aggressive,  except  when  nec- 
essary, and  as  far  as  1  could  see  he  wasn't  a  bit 
cocky,  though  other  folks  thought  so.  I  will 
say,  he  wasn't  remarkably  cautious  about  ex- 
pressing his  opinion." 

The  liking  was  mutual.  Roosevelt  formed  a 
life-long  friendship, with  Bill  Sewall,  who  after- 
wards became  the  organizer  of  the  Rough  Riders. 
To  the  eighteen-year-old  college  youth,  the  giant 
backwoodsman  of  prodigious  strength,  alert  mind 
and  indomitable  spirit,  was  "  the  living  embodi- 
ment of  his  boyhood  heroes."  He  returned  again 
and  again,  twice  a  year  at  least,  during  his  col- 
lege course,  to  spend  his  vacations  in  the  wilder- 
ness of  Maine  with  Bill  Sewall.  Once  he  went 
from  his  studies  to  the  Maine  forests  barely  in 
time  to  save  himself  from  a  physical  breakdown. 
He  never  failed  to  find  there  the  healing  which 
Nature  supplies  so  generously  to  tired  spirits 
and  bodies,  and  each  time  Roosevelt  fought  his 
way  nearer  to  the  goal  of  his  own  constant  ef- 
fort —  a  strong,  vigorous  body. 

During  the  four  years  of  Harvard  life,  inter- 
spersed with  vacations  in  Maine,  Roosevelt  had 
much  reason  for  hope  and  encouragement.  He 
grew  from  a  frail  youth  of  eighteen  into  a  vig- 
orous, self-reliant,  purposeful  man.  "  For  him," 
says  Hermann  Hagedorn,  "  there  was  no  grop- 
ing, no  stumbling  about  in  blind  alleys,  no  wast- 
ing of  time  and  strength  in  the  pursuit  either  of 
false,  enervating  pleasures  or  of  vague  social, 
political,  and  religious  theories.  He  knew  ex- 


COLLEGE  AND  GROWTH  29 

actly  what  he  wanted.  He  wanted  to  become  a 
man  who  did  things.  That  was  his  goal.  He 
had  seen  it  clearly  from  his  fifteenth  year,  and 
with  ever-increasing  clearness  he  saw  the  road, 
the  only  road,  that  led  to  it.  The  name  of  that 
road  was  WORK.  He  worked  to  build  up  his 
body,  not  for  the  sake  of  mere  bodily  strength; 
he  worked  to  build  up  his  mind,  not  for  the  sake 
of  mere  mental  agility;  but  both  together  as 
muscle  and  sinew  for  that  spiritual  power  which 
constitutes  the  backbone  of  great  men." 

The  ideal  of  work,  actual  accomplishment,  the 
translation  of  words  and  thoughts  into  acts,  was 
ever  his  guiding  principle  through  the  whole  of 
his  life.  Jacob  Riis  tells  of  an  interview  Roose- 
velt had  with  Julian  Ralph,  "  when  as  a  Police 
Commissioner  he  was  stirring  New  York  up  as 
it  had  not  been  stirred  in  many  a  long  day. 

"  I  can  see  him  now  striding  up  and  down  the 
gray  office. 

' '  What  would  you  say  to  the  young  men  of 
our  city,  if  you  could  speak  to  them  with  com- 
mand this  day?'  asked  Mr.  Ralph. 

" '  I  would  order  them  to  work,'  said  Mr. 
Roosevelt,  stopping  short  and  striking  his  hands 
together  with  quick  emphasis.  '  I  would  teach 
the  young  men  that  he  who  has  not  wealth  owes 
his  first  duty  to  his  family,  but  he  who  has  means 
owes  his  to  the  State.  It  is  ignoble  to  go  on 
heaping  money  on  money.  I  would  preach  the 
doctrine  of  work  to  all,  and  to  the  men  of  wealth 
the  doctrine  of  unremunerative  work.' " 

With  the  fresh  impulses  of  such  an  ideal  strong 
in  him,  as  his  college  preparation  ended,  a  rude 


30        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

shock  came  as  a,  result  of  his  final  visit  to  his 
physician  a  day  or  two  before  leaving  Cam- 
bridge. "  The  doctor  told  him  that  he  had  heart 
trouble,"  says  Hermann  Hagedorn,  who  tells  the 
incident,  "  that  he  must  choose  a  profession  that 
would  demand  no  violent  exertion,  that  he  must 
take  no  vigorous  exercise,  that  he  must  not  even 
run  upstairs.  It  was  a  stiff  blow,  but  he  took  it 
as  he  had  taken  other  blows.  '  Doctor,'  he 
said/I'  I  am  going  to  do  all  the  things  you  tell  me 
not  to  do.  If  I've  got  to  live  the  sort  of  life 
you  have  described,  I  don't  care  how  short  it 
is.'  " 

He  began  his  defiance  of  the  fate  read  to  him 
by  the  doctor  by  getting  married  in  October,  to 
Alice  Lee,  and  by  going  to  Europe  the  following 
year  to  study  in  Dresden,  and  to  spend  his  spare 
time  in  long  hikes,  swimming  rivers,  and  climb- 
ing mountains.  In  recognition  of  his  achieve- 
ments in  climbing  the  Jungfrau  and  the  Matter- 
horn  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  London  Al- 
pine Club.  He  returned  to  his  own  country  with 
a  mind  well  trained,  with  his  outlook  broadened, 
with  a  body  more  than  ever  obedient  to  the  de- 
mands of  his  will,  ready  to  enter  upon  the  serious 
work  of  life,  the  apostle  of  work  and  the  strenu- 
ous life,  and  the  most  consistent  embodiment  of 
his  own  teachings. 


FIGHT  FOR  GOOD  GOVERNMENT          31 
CHAPTER  III 

INTO  THE  FIGHT  FOR   GOOD  GOVERNMENT 

WITHOUT  waiting  for  something  to  turn  up, 
after  graduating  from  Harvard,  Theodore  Roose- 
velt plunged  into  the  active  life  of  his  home  city 
and  turned  things  up  himself.  A  brief  period  of 
law  study  in  the  office  of  his  uncle,  Robert  B. 
Roosevelt,  was  interrupted  by  his  first  political 
adventure,  and  he  never  practiced  law.  He  had 
formed  some  very  definite  ideas,  however,  as  to 
the  best  way  to  win  success  at  the  bar,  and 
George  William  Douglas  tells  how  Mr.  Roosevelt 
expressed  these  ideas  a  few  years  later  for  the 
benefit  of  a  struggling  young  lawyer. 

"  If  I  were  you,"  he  said,  "  I  would  hang  out 
my  shingle  and  get  a  case.  I  don't  care  how  you 
get  it.  Your  own  wits  ought  to  find  one,  at  least, 
which  no  other  lawyer  has.  I  would  not  take  a 
justice-shop  case,  either.  I  would  find  a  case 
that  was  right  up  in  the  regular  courts  and 
which  possessed  some  merit.  I  wouldn't  take  it 
up  for  nothing,  either,  or  on  a  contingency.  I 
would  have  a  decent  fee  attached  to  it.  In  other 
words,  I  would  have  as  many  respectable  fea- 
tures attached  to  the  case  as  possible  under  the 
circumstances. 

"  Having  got  that  case,  I  would  try  it  as  if  it 
were  the  last  case  I  ever  expected  to  have  or 
which  would  ever  be  in  the  courts.  I  would  not 
make  a  nuisance  of  myself  —  you  know  enough 
to  avoid  that  —  but  you  can  be  so  persistent  that 


32        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

you  will  win  the  respect  of  every  one  who  in  any- 
way comes  in  connection  with  the  trial.  Put 
all  of  yourself  into  the  case.  Get  every  side  of  it, 
and  above  all  things,  hammer  it  into  your  client 
by  the  force  of  your  actions  that  your  integrity 
is  above  reproach. 

"  When  you  get  done  with  the  case  you  will 
have  a  reputation  that  many  lawyers  devote  years 
in  other  ways  trying  to  obtain.  You  will  find 
that  a  second  case  is  certain  to  come  to  you 
whether  you  lose  or  win  the  first  case.  I  would 
treat  the  second  case  just  as  I  did  the  first  one. 
Live  and  act  as  if  there  never  were  such  a  case  in 
existence  before,  and  master  it,  just  as  you  are 
required  to  master  your  studies  of  the  law  school. 
If  you  find  yourself  weakening  at  all,  use  the  spur 
and  whip  until  you  have  created  an  enthusiasm  in 
your  work  that  imparts  itself  to  client,  court,  and 
jury,  and  results  in  your  victory. 

"  Go  at  the  third  case  in  the  same  way.  And 
for  the  matter  of  that,  as  your  patronage  in- 
creases, give  the  same  treatment  to  all  your  cases. 
You  will  create  confidence  in  yourself  that  will 
insure  you  a  constant  practice,  and  your  clients, 
once  secured,  will  never  leave  you." 

It  may  be  worth  while  noting  that  this  theory 
worked,  for  the  young  man  put  it  into  practice 
and  won  his  first  case  on  a  technical  point  which 
all  the  other  lawyers  had  overlooked. 

Opinions  differ  as  to  the  underlying  motives  in 
Mr.  Roosevelt's  choice  of  political  activities  as  a 
profession.  Indeed,  there  is  strong  testimony 
that  he  did  not  choose  it  nor  look  upon  it  as  his 
real  life  work,  but  that  he  intended  to  follow  a 


FIGHT  FOR  GOOD  GOVERNMENT          33 

literary  career.  He  had  a  passion  for  author- 
ship, and  repeatedly  referred  to  it  even  after 
several  of  his  earlier  political  successes.  Imme- 
diately after  his  first  election  to  the  New  York 
Assembly,  he  wrote  to  his  friend  Charles  G. 
Washburn,  "  Don't  think  I  am  going  to  go  into 
politics  after  this  year,  for  I  am  not."  He  still 
had  the  same  idea  twelve  years  later,  while  a 
member  of  the  National  Civil  Service  Commis- 
sion, when  he  wrote  to  S.  N.  D.  North,  Manag- 
ing Editor  of  the  Utica  Tribune,  "  I  am  a  little 
inclined  to  envy  a  man  who  can  look  forward  to 
a  long  and  steady  course  of  public  service,  but  in 
my  own  case  such  a  career  is  out  of  the  ques- 
tion. .  .  .  My  career  is  that  of  a  literary  man, 
and  as  soon  as  I  am  out  of  my  present  place  I 
shall  go  back  to  my  books." 

Notwithstanding  his  apparent  choice  of  the 
•work  of  a  writer  and  notwithstanding  some 
opposition  from  his  family  and  friends,  he  joined 
the  Republican  association  of  his  assembly  dis- 
trict almost  immediately  upon  his  return  from  a 
trip  abroad  following  his  graduation  from  col- 
lege. Whether  he  was  prompted  by  a  desire  to 
render  service  to  his  country,  or  by  his  love  of 
work  and  a  good  fight,  or  by  all  three,  the  fact  is 
undeniable  that  they  all  came  to  him  in  abundant 
measure.  The  story  of  his  "  political  apprentice- 
ship, of  the  tempering  of  the  bold  spirit,  and  the 
ripening  of  the  untiring  mind  of  this  young  Gala- 
had "  is  interestingly  told  in  The  Evening  Sun  of 
New  York : 

"  You  will  find  no  one  at  your  political  meet- 
ings," those  who  sought  to  dissuade  him  said, 


34        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

"  but  grooms,  liquor  dealers,  and  low  politicians." 

"  Well,"  was  Roosevelt's  reply,  "If  that  is  so, 
they  belong  to  the  governing  class,  and  you  do 
not.  I  mean,  if  I  can,  to  be  of  the  governing 
class." 

One  day  when  he  was  scarcely  more  than  a 
year  beyond  the  last  of  his  college  days  —  he  was 
now  23  years  old  —  he  met  one  Joe  Murray,  a 
district  worker  around  the  Roosevelt  home  lo- 
cality. Joe  Murray  had  had  a  falling  out  with 
Barney  Hess,  the  district  boss  of  the  Twenty- 
first  Assembly  District.  Barney  Hess  had  had 
one  idea  as  to  who  should  be  the  next  Assembly- 
man from  the  Twenty-first.  Joe  had  an  idea 
wholly  different. 

"  Listen,  men,"  said  Joe  Murray  to  his  faction 
of  anti-Hess  district  workers  (all  this  on  the  word 
of  the  best  local  political  historian  of  the  day). 
"  What  this  silk-stocking  neighborhood  will  rise 
to  is  a  swell  candidate  for  the  Assembly.  Who's 
the  swellest  family  around  here  ?  The  Roosevelts. 
Listen,  men  —  let's  trot  out  this  young  colleger, 
Teddy  Roosevelt,  and  we'll  put  Barney  Hess  flat 
on  his  back." 

The  young  "  colleger "  got  the  nomination. 
Instantly  he  began  a  local  campaign  that  had  all 
those  elements  of  the  picturesque  which  in  after 
years  were  to  draw  the  attention  of  the  world  to 
his  far  greater  contests.  And  whether  it  was  due 
to  his  own  campaign  methods,  the  hearty  hustling 
of  his  lieutenant,  Joe,  a  desire  of  the  neighbor- 
hood for  blue  blood  in  the  Assembly  or  a  combi- 
nation of  all  these  elements,  the  youthful  looking 
college  man  was  elected. 


FIGHT  FOR  GOOD  GOVERNMENT          35 

The  local  boss  thought  the  awakening  of  the 
brownstone  proletariat  was  only  an  "  annoying 
incident."  At  Albany  they  said :  "  Well,  they've 
sent  up  another  silk-stocking."  But  Roosevelt 
was  reflected  in  1882  and  1883.  Before  his  first 
term  was  half  over  it  was  seen  that  he  was  likely 
to  "  make  trouble."  The  moral  crusade  which 
attended  every  phase  of  his  career  he  started 
before  the  first  session  of  which  he  was  a  mem- 
ber had  been  under  way  more  than  a  few 
months. 

The  elevated  railroad  ring  corruptionists  had 
involved  the  Attorney-General  of  the  State  and 
a  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  Roosevelt's 
fellow  legislators  showed  no  disposition  to  satisfy 
the  desire  of  their  angry  constituents  that  those 
concerned  be  punished.  Roosevelt  was  counseled 
by  his  Republican  elders  in  the  Assembly  to  hold 
his  peace.  The  kind  of  peace  he  held  was  pretty 
well  described  by  a  magazine  writer  of  the 
time: 

"  So  far  as  the  clearest  judgment  could  see,  it 
was  not  the  moment  for  attack.  Indeed,  it 
looked  as  if  attack  would  strengthen  the  hands  of 
corruption  by  exposing  the  weakness  of  the  op- 
position to  it.  Never  did  expediency  put  a 
temptation  to  conscience  more  insidiously. 

"  It  was  on  April  6th,  1882,  that  young  Roose- 
velt took  the  floor  in  the  Assembly  and  demanded 
that  Judge  Westbrook,  of  Newburg,  be  im- 
peached. And  for  sheer  moral  courage  that  act 
is  probably  supreme  in  Roosevelt's  life  thus  far. 
He  must  have  expected  failure.  Even  his  youth 
and  idealism  and  ignorance  of  public  affairs  could 


36        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

not  blind  him  t6  the  apparently  inevitable  con- 
sequences. 

"  That  speech  —  the  deciding  act  in  Roose- 
velt's career  —  is  not  remarkable  for  eloquence. 
But  it  is  remarkable  for  fearless  candor.  He 
called  thieves  thieves,  regardless  of  their  mil- 
lions; he  slashed  savagely  at  the  Judge  and  the 
Attorney-General ;  he  told  the  plain  unvarnished 
truth  as  his  indignant  eyes  saw  it. 

"  When  he  finished  the  veteran  leader  of  the 
Republicans  rose  and  with  gently  contemptuous 
raillery  asked  that  the  resolution  to  take  up  the 
charge  be  voted  down.  He  said  he  wished  to 
give  young  Mr.  Roosevelt  time  to  think  about  the 
wisdom  of  his  course.  '  I  have  seen,'  said  he, 
'  many  reputations  in  the  State  broken  down  by 
loose  charges  made  in  the  legislature.'  And  pres- 
ently the  Assembly  gave  '  young  Mr.  Roosevelt 
time  to  think  '  by  voting  not  to  take  up  his  '  loose 
charges.' 

"  Ridicule,  laughter,  a  ripple  —  apparently  it 
was  all  over,  except  the  consequences  to  the 
bumptious  and  dangerous  young  man  which 
might  flow  from  the  cross  set  against  his  name 
in  the  black  books  of  the  ring. 

"  That  night  the  young  man  was  once  more 
urged  to  be  '  sensible,'  to  '  have  regard  to  his 
future  usefulness,'  to  '  cease  injuring  the  party.' 
He  snapped  his  teeth  together  and  defied  the 
party  leaders.  And  the  next  day  he  again  rose 
and  again  lifted  his  puny  voice  and  his  puny 
hand  against  smiling,  contemptuous  corruption. 
Day  after  day  he  persevered  on  the  floor  of  the 
Assembly  and  in  interviews  for  the  press ;  a  few 


FIGHT  FOR  GOOD  GOVERNMENT          37 

newspapers  here  and  there  joined  with  him; 
Assemblymen  all  over  the  State  began  to  hear 
from  their  constituents.  Within  a  week  his  name 
was  known  from  Buffalo  to  Montauk  Point,  and 
everywhere  the  people  were  applauding  him. 
On  the  eighth  day  of  his  bold,  smashing  attack, 
the  resolution  to  take  up  the  charges  was  again 
voted  upon  at  his  demand.  And  the  Assembly- 
men, with  the  eyes  of  the  whole  people  upon 
them,  did  not  dare  longer  to  keep  themselves  on 
record  as  defenders  of  a  judge  who  feared  to 
demand  an  investigation.  The  opposition  col- 
lapsed. Roosevelt  won  by  104  to  6." 

In  the  underworld  of  politics  Roosevelt's  fear- 
less fight  against  corruption  earned  him  many 
bitter  enemies.  "  A  certain  class  grew  to  fear 
and  hate  him  to  such  a  degree  that  they  plotted 
to  do  him  bodily  harm,"  wrote  Edward  Strate- 
meyer,  and  he  tells  in  his  "  American  Boy's  Life 
of  Theodore  Roosevelt "  the  following  incident : 

"  He  has  got  to  learn  that  he  must  mind  his 
own  business,"  was  the  way  one  of  these  cor- 
ruptionists  reasoned. 

"But  what  can  we  do?"  asked  another. 
"  He's  as  sharp  on  the  floor  of  the  Assembly  as  a 
steel  trap." 

"  We'll  get  Stubby  to  brush  up  against  him," 
said  a  third. 

Stubby  was  a  bar-room  loafer  who  had  been 
at  one  time  something  of  a  pugilist.  He  was  a 
thoroughly  unprincipled  fellow,  and  it  was 
known  that  he  would  do  almost  anything  for 
money. 

"  Sure,  I'll  fix  him,"  said  Stubby.    "  You  just 


38        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

leave  him  to  me'and  see  how  I  polish  him  off." 

The  corruptionists  and  their  tool  met  at  the 
Delavan  House,  an  old-fashioned  hotel  at  which 
politicians  in  and  around  the  capital  were  wont 
to  congregate,  and  waited  for  the  young  Assem- 
blyman. Roosevelt  was  not  long  in  putting  in 
an  appearance  and  was  soon  in  deep  discussion 
with  some  friends. 

"  Watch  him,  Stubby,"  said  one  of  the  young 
assemblyman's  enemies.  "Don't  let  him  get 
away  from  you  to-night." 

"  I  have  me  eye  on  him,"  answered  Stubby. 

Roosevelt  was  on  the  way  to  the  buffet  of  the 
hotel  when  the  crowd,  with  Stubby  in  front, 
pushed  against  him  rudely.  The  young  As- 
semblyman stepped  back  and  viewed  those  before 
him  fearlessly. 

"  Say,  what  d'  yer  mean,  running  into  me  that 
way  ?  "  demanded  Stubby,  insolently. 

As  he  spoke  he  aimed  a  savage  blow  at  Theo- 
dore Roosevelt.  But  the  young  Assemblyman 
had  not  forgotten  how  to  box,  and  he  dodged 
with  an  agility  that  was  astonishing. 

"  This  fellow  needs  to  be  taught  a  lesson," 
Theodore  told  himself,  and  then  and  there  he 
proceeded  to  administer  the  lesson  in  a  manner 
that  Stubby  never  forgot.  He  went  down  flat  on 
his  back,  and  when  he  got  up,  he  went  down 
again,  with  a  bleeding  nose  and  one  eye  all  but 
closed.  Seeing  this,  several  leaped  in  to  his 
assistance,  but  it  was  an  ill-fated  move,  for 
Roosevelt  turned  on  them  also,  and  down  they 
went,  too;  and  then  the  encounter  came  to  an 
end,  with  Theodore  Roosevelt  the  victor. 


FIGHT  FOR  GOOD  GOVERNMENT          39 

"  And  that  wasn't  the  end  of  it,"  said  one,  who 
witnessed  the  affair.  "  After  it  was  over  young 
Roosevelt  was  as  smiling  as  ever.  He  walked 
straight  over  to  some  of  his  enemies  who  had 
been  watching  the  mix-up  from  a  distance  and 
told  them  very  plainly  that  he  knew  how  the  at- 
tack had  originated,  and  he  was  much  obliged  to 
them,  for  he  hadn't  enjoyed  himself  so  much  for 
a  year." 

His  district  sent  him  back  to  Albany  as  an 
Assemblyman  in  1882  and  again  in  1883.  In 
that  year  he  was  chosen  minority  leader  of  a 
House  now  verging  toward  the  Democratic  su- 
premacy which  came  to  its  full  flower  with  the 
victory  of  Grover  Cleveland  and  the  sending  of 
the  Republican  machine  to  the  political  round- 
house for  a  radical  overhauling. 

Republican  State  leaders  who  had  grown  gray 
in  the  political  turmoil  while  young  Roosevelt  still 
was  a  stripling  suddenly  began  to  look  his  way 
and  take  some  notice.  In  1884,  or  in  his  twenty- 
sixth  year,  they  sent  the  young  Assemblyman  as 
chairman  of  the  New  York  delegation  to  the  Re- 
publican convention  at  Chicago  which  nominated 
the  Plumed  Knight,  idol  of  the  rank  and  file  of 
Republicanism,  as  Cleveland's  opponent  after  a 
bitter  scrimmage. 

In  a  characteristically  vigorous  speech,  Roose- 
velt on  the  floor  of  the  convention  opposed 
Elaine's  nomination.  But  once  Elaine  had  been 
nominated,  despite  the  fact  that  a  sizable  wing 
bolted  the  party  and  espoused  the  Democratic 
nominee,  Grover  Cleveland,  Roosevelt  gave 
Elaine  his  support. 


40        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

For  this  shift'of  attitude  Roosevelt  was  much 
criticized,  but  his  reply  gives  the  key  to  many 
later  acts  such  as  his  support  of  Judge  Hughes, 
the  Republican  candidate,  in  1916,  when  the 
Bull  Moose  wanted  him  again  to  carry  its  stand- 
ard. He  declared  that  in  politics  permanent 
good  was  achieved  not  by  guerilla  warfare,  but 
by  working  vigorously  for  reforms  within  a 
party. 

The  next  adventure  in  politics  was  his  nomi- 
nation for  Mayor  of  New  York  City,  in  1886,  a 
really  hopeless  chance  with  a  "  United  Labor 
Party "  led  by  Henry  George,  and  a  very  re- 
spectable citizen,  Abram  S.  Hewitt,  put  up  by 
Tammany  Hall  to  save  itself.  Theodore  Roose- 
velt ran  third. 

"  When  we  received  the  news  of  his  defeat," 
says  his  old  friend,  William  D.  Murphy,  "  Roose- 
velt met  the  announcement  with  a  typical  fighting 
phrase,  which  phrase  was  a  part  of  the  popular 
conception  of  the  man.  At  10  o'clock  we  knew 
that  he  had  been  definitely  beaten.  '  Never 
mind,  Teddy,  old  boy,'  I  said,  placing  my  arm 
around  his  shoulder,  '  this  means  bigger  things 
later  on.'  '  Never  give  a  thought  to  it,'  he  an- 
swered. '  We've  had  a  bully  fight.'  This  was 
his  first  use  of  the  famous  fighting  sentence, 
'  We've  had  a  bully  fight.' " 

These  early  experiences  in  political  life  taught 
Mr.  Roosevelt  many  helpful  lessons.  He  con- 
fided at  least  one  of  them  to  his  close  friend 
and  admirer,  Jacob  Riis.  His  successes  in  the 
Legislature,  especially  in  his  single-handed  fight 
against  Judge  Westbrook,  had  so  impressed  him 


FIGHT  FOR  GOOD  GOVERNMENT          41 

with  the  virtue  of  independent  action  that  he  cut 
himself  off  from  the  opinions  of  other  advisers. 
He  had  received  much  bad  advice,  and  had  won 
his  fight  by  rejecting  it.  Now  he  made  the  mis- 
take of  rejecting  all  advice  and  cooperation.  He 
depended  wholly  upon  his  own  conscience  and 
judgment,  refusing  to  make  concessions  or  to  see 
virtue  in  the  views  and  plans  of  those  who  dis- 
agreed with  him.  His  enemies  immediately 
spoke  of  his  "  big  head  "  and  his  friends  criti- 
cized. He  began  to  fail  in  his  efforts.  His  influ- 
ence waned.  But  he  had  the  saving  sense  of 
humor,  and  a  keen  understanding  of  himself.  In 
his  confession  to  Jacob  Riis,  he  said : 

"  I  suppose,"  he  said,  "  that  my  head  was 
swelled.  It  would  not  be  strange  if  it  was.  I 
stood  out  for  my  own  opinion,  alone.  I  took 
the  best  mugwump  stand ;  my  own  conscience, 
my  own  judgment,  were  to  decide  in  all  things. 
I  would  listen  to  no  argument,  no  advice.  I 
took  the  isolated  peak  on  every  issue,  and  my 
people  left  me.  When  I  looked  around,  before 
the  session  was  well  under  way,  I  found  my- 
self alone.  I  was  absolutely  deserted.  The 
people  didn't  understand.  The  men  from  Erie, 
from  Suffolk,  from  anywhere,  would  not  work 
with  me.  '  He  won't  listen  to  anybody/  they 
said,  and  I  would  not.  My  isolated  peak  had 
become  a  valley ;  every  bit  of  influence  I  had  was 
gone.  The  things  I  wanted  to  do  I  was  power- 
less to  accomplish.  What  did  I  do?  I  looked 
the  ground  over  and  made  up  my  mind  that 
there  was  several  other  excellent  people  there, 
with  honest  opinions  of  the  right,  even  though 


42        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

they  differed  with  me.  I  turned  in  to  help  them, 
and  they  turned  to  and  gave  me  a  hand.  And 
•so  we  were  able  to  get  things  done.  We  did 
not  agree  in  all  things,  but  we  did  in  some,  and 
those  we  pulled  at  together.  That  was  my  first 
lesson  in  real  politics.  It  is  just  this :  if  you  are 
cast  on  a  desert  island  with  only  a  screw-driver, 
a  hatchet,  and  a  chisel  to  make  a  boat  with,  why, 
go  make  the  best  one  you  can.  It  would  be 
better  if  you  had  a  saw,  but  you  haven't.  So 
with  men.  Here  is  my  friend  in  Congress  who 
is  a  good  man,  a  strong  man,  but  cannot  be  made 
to  believe  in  some  things  which  I  trust.  It  is 
too  bad  that  he  doesn't  look  at  it  as  I  do,  but 
he  does  not,  and  we  have  to  work  together  as 
we  can.  There  is  a  point,  of  course,  where  a 
man  must  take  the  isolated  peak  and  break  with 
it  all  for  clear  principle,  but  until  it  comes  he 
must  work,  if  he  would  be  of  use,  with  men  as 
they  are.  As  long  as  the  good  in  them  over- 
balances the  evil,  let  him  work  with  that  for  the 
best  that  can  be  got." 

President  Harrison  had  watched  Roosevelt's 
fight  in  the  New  York  State  Assembly  for  civil 
service  reform,  and  in  1889  appointed  him  a 
United  States  Civil  Service  Commissioner. 
"  Immediately,"  says  The  Sun,  New  York,  "  he 
jumped  into  a  program  of  civil  service  uplift 
that  met  with  instant  opposition  from  Congress- 
men, largely  from  the  South  and  Southwest, 
who  saw  their  patronage  privileges  going  by  the 
board  if  the  Roosevelt  program  was  effected. 

"  Thereupon  Commissioner  Roosevelt  exe- 
cuted what  was  considered  a  brilliant  coup :  he 


FIGHT  FOR  GOOD  GOVERNMENT          43 

instituted  the  practice  of  having  the  examina- 
tions for  positions  in  Washington  held  in  dis- 
tant States;  and  straightway  many  a  Congress- 
man, who  knew  that  by  this  plan  pet  constitu- 
ents would  have  to  take  examinations  under  the 
eye  of  men  who  often  were  not  of  the  same 
political  faith,  became  converted  on  the  spot  to 
the  beauties  of  civil  service." 

The  earnestness  with  which  Mr.  Roosevelt 
worked  in  those  years  has  been  described  by  Mr. 
John  Fletcher  Lacey,  who  was  then  representing 
an  Iowa  district  in  Congress.  A  few  days  after 
Mr.  Lacey  took  his  seat  in  the  Fifty-first  Con- 
gress he  met  the  late  Thomas  B.  Reed  in  one 
of  the  cloak-rooms  of  the  Capitol,  studying  a 
map  of  the  United  States.  Mr.  Lacey  good 
humoredly  asked  him  if  he  were  figuring  out 
the  size  of  his  majority  as  Speaker.  According 
to  the  lowan,  Mr.  Reed  replied : 

"  Xo.  A  young  constituent  of  mine  who  has 
just  failed  in  a  civil  service  examination  claims 
that  a  competitor  passed  safely  by  bribing  the 
examiners  to  give  him  a  list  of  the  questions  in 
advance.  I  didn't  believe  my  young  friend,  and 
have  sent  him  to  the  headquarters  of  the  Civil 
Service  Commission  to  tell  his  story  there. 
While  awaiting  his  return  I  have  been  figuring 
out  on  this  map  that  if,  say,  Columbus,  Ohio, 
represented  one  hundred  per  cent,  in  a  civil  serv- 
ice table  of  markings,  my  constituent  would 
come  out  somewhere  about  Jamaica,  Long 
Island." 

"  I  was  amused,"  said  Mr.  Lacey,  "  by  Reed's 
quaint  way  of  stating  his  belief  in  his  constit- 


44        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

uent's  inability  to  pass  the  examination.  While 
we  were  discussing  the  subject  of  civil  service 
regulations  in  a  general  way  in  walked  the  young 
man  who  had  failed  and  gone  to  unburden  his 
conviction  to  the  Civil  Service  Commission  that 
a  rival  had  been  successful  through  connivance 
with  an  agent  of  the  Commission." 

"  Well,  what  happened  when  you  told  your 
story  ?  "  Reed  asked. 

"  Why,"  faltered  the  youth,  "  a  very  emphatic 
fellow  in  charge  there  whipped  out  one  hundred 
dollars  in  bills,  laid  them  across  his  knee  and 
exclaimed :  '  I'll  pay  you  one  hundred  dollars, 
young  man,  if  you  can  prove  that  a  single  sylla- 
ble of  what  you  say  of  corruption  is  true.'  That 
is  all  the  satisfaction  I  got." 

"  And  that  is  all  you  deserve,"  Reed  added. 

"  Then  he  turned  to  me,"  said  Mr.  Lacey, 
"  and  remarked,  '  We've  got  an  American  of 
blood  and  iron  —  a  coming  man  —  on  the  Civil 
Service  Commission.  I  tell  you,  Lacey,  you 
want  to  watch  that  Civil  Service  Commissioner. 
He'll  be  President  some  day." 

"  '  What's  his  name  ?  '  I  asked. 

"  '  Theodore  Roosevelt/  replied  Reed. 

"  Of  course  I  had  heard  vaguely  of  Roosevelt, 
but  never  having  had  occasion  to  meet  him  I 
had  formed  no  definite  opinion  of  him.  Reed's 
characterization  aroused  in  me  the  greatest  curi- 
osity to  see  Roosevelt.  The  next  day  I  called 
and  introduced  myself,  and  took  the  liberty  to 
repeat  what  the  young  man  had  brought  back 
about  the  one  hundred  dollar  guarantee  that  no 


FIGHT  FOR  GOOD  GOVERNMENT          45 

turpitude  on  the  part  of  the  examiner  in  question 
existed. 

"  '  I  have  resolved  to  purify  the  civil  service 
system,'  was  Mr.  Roosevelt's  reply,  '  and  to  that 
end  have  placed  in  charge  men  whom  I  trust 
with  my  whole  heart,  and  I  stand  ready,  there- 
fore, to  pledge  my  fortune  and  my  honor  to  the 
sacredness  with  which  they  respect  the  trust  I 
repose  in  them.' " 

Mr.  Roosevelt  was  willing,  says  George  Wilr 
liam  Douglas,  to  back  not  only  the  integrity  of 
his  subordinates  but  the  fairness  of  his  exam- 
inations as  well.  It  has  been  the  favorite  charge 
of  the  opponents  of  the  merit  system  that  the 
examinations  did  not  test  the  ability  of  the  candi- 
dates for  the  duties  which  they  aspired  to  per- 
form. Mr.  Roosevelt  had  to  meet  this  charge 
once  before  a  committee,  and  he  frankly  ad- 
mitted that  some  of  the  questions  asked  were 
intended  only  to  discover  something  about  the 
general  intelligence  of  the  candidates. 

"  Not  long  ago,"  he  said,  "  we  asked  who 
Lincoln  was,  and  the  answers  that  we  got  were 
various.  We  were  told  that  he  was  a  Revolu- 
tionary general,  that  he  was  assassinated  by 
Thomas  Jefferson,  that  he  assassinated  Aaron 
Burr,  that  he  commanded  a  regiment  in  the 
French  and  Indian  War,  and  that  he  was  an 
Arctic  explorer." 

He  insisted,  however,  that  all  examinations 
should  be  practical,  so  far  as  possible.  When  it 
was  decided  to  put  the  Government  inspectors 
along  the  Rio  Grande  in  the  classified  service,  it 


46        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

became  necessary  to  prepare  questions  for  the 
examinations.  As  these  men  were  to  prevent 
outlaws  from  running  cattle  across  the  border 
into  Mexico,  it  was  important  that  they  should 
be  first-class  horsemen,  familiar  with  handling 
cattle,  and  that  they  should  also  be  acquainted 
with  the  various  brands  of  cattle  on  the  Texas 
frontier  ranges.  In  short,  men  of  experience  in 
frontier  life  were  needed.  Some  subordinate 
drafted  a  lot  of  questions  in  history,  rhetoric, 
and  mathematics  for  the  candidates  to  answer. 
Mr.  Roosevelt  knew  something  about  the  West 
and  was  aware  that  while  men  who  could  answer 
these  questions  might  make  good  inspectors,  the 
men  who  could  be  got  to  serve  as  inspectors 
could  not  answer  the  questions,  and  that  whether 
they  could  or  not  was  immaterial.  He  there- 
upon drew  up  a  new  examination  paper.  The 
only  test  of  scholarship  was  the  requirement  that 
the  candidates  should  answer  the  questions  in 
their  own  language  and  in  their  own  handwrit- 
ing. 

The  men  were  asked,  among  other  things,  to 
"  state  the  experience,  if  any,  you  have  had  as 
a  marksman  with  a  rifle  or  a  pistol ;  whether 
or  not  you  have  practiced  shooting  at  a  target 
with  either  weapon,  or  at  game  or  other  moving 
objects;  and  also  whether  you  have  practiced 
shooting  on  horseback.  State  the  make  of  the 
rifle  or  revolver  you  use." 

This  was  intensely  practical  and  was  intended 
to  disclose  the  kind  of  information  needed  in 
guiding  the  selection  of  inspectors.  A  second 
question  was  similar  to  the  first : 


FIGHT  FOR  GOOD  GOVERNMENT         47 

"  State  fully  what  experience  you  have  had 
in  horsemanship;  whether  or  not  you  can  ride 
unbroken  horses;  if  not,  whether  you  would  be 
able,  unassisted,  to  rope,  bridle,  saddle,  mount, 
and  ride  an  ordinary  cow  pony  after  it  had  been 
turned  loose  for  six  months;  also,  whether  you 
can  ride  an  ordinary  cow  pony  on  the  round-up, 
both  in  circle  riding  and  in  cutting-out  work 
around  the  herd." 

Another  question  was  framed  so  as  to  test 
the  applicants'  knowledge  of  the  different  brands 
of  cattle  in  the  cattle  country.  When  Mr. 
Roosevelt  submitted  the  paper  to  his  colleagues, 
he  declared  that  to  be  a  successful  Government 
inspector  and  shoot  lawless  Mexicans  who  were 
trying  to  run  the  cattle  over  the  border,  it  was 
not  necessary  for  a  man  to  discuss  the  nebular 
hypothesis,  nor  to  have  an  intimate  knowledge 
of  the  name  and  number  of  inhabitants  of  the 
capital  of  Zanzibar. 

Because  he  was  a  practical  civil  service  re- 
former and  did  not  "  play  politics,"  he  was  kept 
in  office  by  President  Cleveland,  experiencing  in 
his  own  person  the  benefits  of  the  merit  system. 
After  he  had  been  in  the  commission  six  years, 
he  concluded  that  his  work  there  was  finished. 
The  merit  system  was  so  firmly  established  that 
no  one  dared  propose  to  return  to  the  old  spoils 
system  of  the  distribution  of  the  patronage 
among  the  successful  party  workers;  and  the 
examinations  to  test  the  fitness  of  the  applicants 
had  been  made  so  practical  that  no  capable  man 
would  fail  to  pass  them. 

So  whole-souled  and  effective  was  Roosevelt's 


48        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

work  in  enforcing  the  civil  service  law  that  he 
received  notable  commendation  both  from  the 
Republican  and  Democratic  presidents  under 
whom  he  served.  He  was  called  from  his  civil 
service  work  in  Washington  to  New  York  to 
accept  Mayor  Strong's  offer  of  a  Police  Com- 
missionership,  and  became  president  of  the  New 
York  Police  Board  in  1895.  He  expected  that 
under  the  reform  administration  "  things  would 
be  happening"  and  he  was  glad  of  the  chance 
to  help  them  to  happen.  "  I  thought  the  storm 
center  was  in  New  York,  and  so  I  came  here," 
he  said  to  a  friend.  "  It  is  a  great  piece  of 
practical  work.  I  like  to  take  hold  of  work 
that  has  been  done  by  a  Tammany  leader,  and 
do  it  as  well,  only  by  approaching  it  from  the 
opposite  direction.  The  thing  that  attracted  me 
to  it  was  that  it  was  to  be  done  in  the  hurly- 
burly,  for  I  don't  like  cloister  life." 

And  into  the  thick  of  the  hurly-burly  he  went, 
while  all  his  "  unbounded  genius  for  the  unusual 
immediately  began  to  function,"  to  quote  a 
graphic  account  from  The  Sun :  "  He  strolled 
Manhattan  streets  late  into  the  night  and  he  got 
evidence  at  first  hand.  He  antagonized  Jimmy 
Wakely,  then  an  all  powerful  prize-fight 
backer  and  saloonkeeper,  who  had  been  led  to 
believe  that  excise  laws  did  not  apply  to  the 
Wakely  "  place  of  business."  He  made  police 
station  speeches  to  astonished  bluecoats,  who 
for  the  first  time  heard  a  superior  tell  them  that 
merit,  not  Tammany  pull,  would  result  in  pro- 
motion. 

"  He  had  taken  the  job  on  the  condition  that 


FIGHT  FOR  GOOD  GOVERNMENT          49 

he  should  have  free  rein,  and  thereupon  he  drove 
headlong  into  the  work.  As  president  of  the 
Board  he  started  in  to  practice  what  he  preached, 
but  the  old  Gibraltar  reared  a  new  pinnacle  in 
the  form  of  local  laws,  which  said  that  the  power 
of  substantial  reward  was  vested  in  the  chief 
of  police,  not  in  the  police  board. 

"  Tom  Byrnes,  famed  as  a  detective  through- 
out the  land,  was  the  chief  of  police.  With 
the  idea  of  beginning  the  reform  at  the  top 
Roosevelt  convinced  his  board  colleagues  that 
the  "  great "  Tom  Byrnes  should  go,  and  a  whole 
city  started  at  the  audacity  of  the  idea.  But  into 
the  police  board  rooms  the  mighty  detective  was 
summoned  for  an  explosive  interview.  Ten 
minutes  after  the  dust  had  settled  Tom  Byrnes, 
the  mighty,  had  sent  in  his  resignation. 

"  Peter  Conlin,  acting  chief,  was  promoted  to 
Byrnes'  job,  the  commission  figuring  that  Con- 
lin, supposedly  a  weak  man,  would  take  orders 
and  carry  them  out.  But,  unknown  to  Com- 
missioner Roosevelt,  Commissioner  Parker  didn't 
side  altogether  with  Rooseveltian  views  of  po- 
lice management,  and  Parker  had  great  influ- 
ence over  Chief  Conlin. 

"  For  a  year  Conlin  did  Roosevelt's  bidding. 
Then  the  chief  grew  headstrong  to  the  point 
where  Roosevelt  found  himself  unable  to  reward 
policemen  as  he  had  promised  or  to  punish  where 
he  had  threatened.  He  faced  about  and  began 
to  fight  from  a  new  angle;  he  tried  to  get  reme- 
dial legislation  passed  that  would  solve  his  po- 
lice difficulties.  He  failed,  and  his  reorganiza- 
tion work  as  planned  went  to  smash. 


50        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

"  Policemen  were  growing  rich,  he  knew,  by 
protecting  saloonkeepers  that  steadily  broke  the 
Sunday  excise  law.  Out  came  the  Roosevelt 
dictum  —  despite  protests  from  his  friends  that 
he  was  threatening  the  future  success  of  his 
own  career  —  that  every  saloon  in  Manhattan 
must  obey  the  statute,  which  said  saloons  must 
close  from  Saturday  night  to  Monday. 

"  Shrieks  of  anguish  arose  the  length  and 
breadth  of  the  island.  Roosevelt's  local  popu- 
larity got  a  temporary  setback.  Chief  Conlin 
seized  the  chance  to  be  "  with  the  crowd  "  and 
defied  his  Commissioner.  When  influential  citi- 
zens, who  had  heard  the  protests  of  the  vicious 
against  the  enforcement  of  the  laws  regulating 
liquor-selling,  began  to  be  afraid  lest  business 
should  suffer,  and  went  to  him  and  suggested 
that  it  was  not  wise  to  bring  about  this  new 
order  of  things,  his  answer  was  uniformly  the 
same : 

"  I  am  placed  here  to  enforce  the  law  as  I 
find  it.  I  shall  enforce  it.  If  you  don't  like 
the  law,  repeal  it." 

George  William  Douglas,  in  his  book  "  The 
Many-Sided  Roosevelt "  called  attention  to  the 
fact  that  this  was  a  practical  application  of  Gen- 
eral Grant's  dictum  that  the  best  way  to  secure 
the  repeal  of  an  improper  law  is  to  enforce  it. 
But  the  people  of  New  York  have  not  yet  been 
able  to  secure  the  repeal  of  the  statutes  which 
the  new  Police  Commissioner  insisted  should  be 
obeyed.  New  statutes  have  been  passed  and  new 
conditions  created,  but  the  situation  is  prac- 
tically unchanged.  In  his  conversation  with  Mr. 


FIGHT  FOR  GOOD  GOVERNMENT         51 

Eggleston  in  the  spring  of  1902  the  subject  was 
referred  to,  and  Mr.  Eggleston  told  the  Presi- 
dent that  he  was  the  author  of  the  situation 
which  then  existed: 

"  How  is  that?  "  Mr.  Roosevelt  asked. 

"  Why,  it  was  you  who  first  demonstrated  the 
fact  that  it  is  possible  for  an  honest  police  ad- 
ministration to  compel  the  police  to  honest 
ways,"  Mr.  Eggleston  replied.  "  You  thus 
created  a  popular  demand  for  honest  police  ad- 
ministration which  will  not  down  at  any  man's 
behest." 

Then  Mr.  Eggleston,  at  his  request,  briefly 
described  the  conditions,  and  after  some  mo- 
ments' thought  Mr.  Roosevelt  said : 

"  The  difficulty  seems  to  be  inherent  in  the 
conditions.  If  a  reform  administration  honestly 
endeavors  to  carry  out  reform,  it  makes  an  end 
of  itself  at  the  end  of  its  term  and  insures  the 
return  of  Tammany  to  power.  If  a  reform  ad- 
ministration fails  or  falters  in  carrying  out  the 
pledges  of  reform  on  which  it  was  elected,  it 
utterly  loses  the  confidence  and  support  of  the 
reform  forces,  and  that  again  means  a  triumph 
for  Tammany  at  the  next  election." 

"  What,  then,  is  to  be  done  ?  "  asked  Mr.  Eg- 
gleston. 

"  Enforce  the  law  and  take  the  consequences," 
he  quickly  answered.  "  The  police  force  is 
composed  mainly  of  good  men,  who  have  no 
love  for  crookedness.  They  need  only  know 
that  an  honest  discharge  of  duty  is  required  of 
them  in  order  to  insure  conduct  of  that  charac- 
ter on  their  part." 


52        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

The  sum  total •*  of  the  whole  excise  crusade 
demonstrated  that  there  were  many  honest  po- 
licemen who  would  go  straight  if  encouraged; 
that  there  were  Police  Commissioners  who  dared 
do  their  duty ;  that  traces  of  a  rise  in  the  morals 
of  the  whole  force  were  noticeable,  and  that  — 
according  to  the  Roosevelt  figures  —  Sunday 
drinking  had  been  cut  down  "  40  per  cent."  while 
the  wave  lasted. 

In  many  other  ways  the  new  vigor  in  the 
police  department  made  itself  felt  in  bettering 
city  conditions.  The  tenement-house  law  was 
invoked  anew  against  buildings  which  were  unfit 
for  human  inhabitants.  "  New  York  City  was 
crowded  with  such  buildings,"  writes  Edward 
Stratemeyer,  "  but  nobody  had  ordered  them 
torn  down,  because  either  nobody  wanted  to 
bother,  or  the  owners  paid  black-mail  money  to 
keep  them  standing  for  the  rent  they  could  get 
out  of  them." 

"  Those  tenements  must  come  down,"  said 
Theodore  Roosevelt. 

"  If  you  order  them  down,  the  owners  will 
fight  you  to  the  bitter  end,"  said  another  officer 
of  the  department. 

"  I  don't  care  if  they  do.  The  houses  are  a 
menace  to  life  and  health.  They  are  filthy,  and 
if  a  fire  ever  started  in  them,  some  would  prove 
regular  traps.  They  have  got  to  go."  And 
shortly  after  that  about  a  hundred  were  seized, 
and  the  most  destroyed. 

For  many  years  a  large  number  of  shiftless 
and  often  lawless  men,  and  women  too,  were 
attracted  to  the  metropolis  because  of  the 


FIGHT  FOR  GOOD  GOVERNMENT         53 

"  tramps'  Lodging  Houses "  located  there. 
These  resorts  were  continually  filled  by  vagrants 
who  would  not  work  and  who  were  a  constant 
menace  to  society  at  large. 

"We  must  get  rid  of  those  lodging  houses," 
said  Mr.  Roosevelt.  "  They  simply  breed  crime. 
No  respectable  man  or  woman,  no  matter  how 
poor,  will  enter  them." 

"  But  we'll  have  to  have  some  sort  of  shelter 
for  the  poor  people,"  said  others. 

"  To  be  sure  —  for  those  who  are  deserving. 
The  others  should  be  driven  off  and  discour- 
aged," answered  Mr.  Roosevelt.  And  one  by 
one  the  tramps'  lodging  places  were  abolished. 
In  their  place  the  Board  of  Charities  opened  a 
Municipal  Lodging  House,  where  those  who 
were  deserving  were  received,  were  made  to 
bathe,  and  given  proper  shelter  and  nourishment. 

More  than  once  threats  were  made  against 
Commissioner  Roosevelt's  life,  but  they  did  not 
move  him  an  inch.  When  told  by  a  friend  one 
day  that  a  group  of  saloonkeepers  were  plotting 
to  harm  him,  he  said,  "  What  can  they  do  ?  " 

"  I  am  afraid  they  can  do  a  good  deal,"  was 
the  answer.  "  Each  of  those  men  has  a  bar- 
keeper who  has  been  in  jail  for  various  crimes. 
They  may  attack  you  some  dark  night  and  kill 
you." 

"  Perhaps  I  won't  give  them  the  chance,"  an- 
swered the  man  who  had  been  on  many  a  dan- 
gerous hunt  in  the  wild  West.  <(  If  they  can 
shoot,  so  can  I." 

"  But  they  may  sneak  up  behind  you  and 
knock  you  out,"  insisted  the  visitor. 


54        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

"  Well,  if  they  do  that,  I  shall  have  died  doing 
my  duty,"  was  the  calm  answer. 

But  the  Gibraltar  of  the  underworld  and  the 
"  invisible  government "  was  too  strong  in  those 
days  for  even  a  Roosevelt  to  demolish,  and  when 
the  McKinley  Administration  offered  him  an  ap- 
pointment much  to  his  liking, —  that  of  Assistant 
Secretary  of  the  Navy,  he  resigned  from  the 
Police  Board,  April  17,  1897,  and  went  to  Wash- 
ington again.  He  left  a  different  police  force, 
both  as  to  individuals  and  as  to  organized  effi- 
ciency, from  the  one  he  found.  Hermann  Hage- 
dorn  has  quoted,  in  his  delightful  "  The  Boy's 
Life  of  Theodore  Roosevelt,"  the  following  tes- 
timony of  a  captain  and  a  lieutenant  of  police 
as  to  the  effect  of  the  Roosevelt  influence  on  the 
force : 

"  The  police  department  was  in  a  coma,"  said 
a  lieutenant  of  police,  many  years  later,  "  and 
Roosevelt  woke  it  up." 

"  He  put  new  morale  into  the  force,"  said  a 
captain  of  police.  "  All  payments  for  advance- 
ment stopped  at  once.  No  political  boss  could 
appoint,  promote,  or  injure  you.  Promotions 
were  strictly  on  the  level.  No  man  was  afraid 
to  do  his  duty  while  Roosevelt  was  commis- 
sioner, because  he  knew  that  the  commissioner 
was  behind  him.  The  crooks  were  afraid  of  the 
cops  —  and  the  cops  were  not  afraid  of  the 
crooks.  All  the  decent,  manly  fellows  on  the 
force  loved  this  strenuous  master  who  led  them. 
He  was  human.  You  could  talk  to  him.  He 
made  even  people  with  a  shady  past  feel  at  home 
with  him." 


FIGHT  FOR  GOOD  GOVERNMENT          55 

"  No  matter  how  you  felt  when  you  were  go- 
ing to  him,"  said  the  lieutenant  of  police,  "  when 
you  were  with  him  you  felt  you  were  as  good 
as  he  was.  He  gets  acquainted  with  me  as  an 
East  Side  kid,  and  because  I  was  a  genuine  East 
Side  kid  he  stuck  to  me.  And  he  made  me  feel 
that  he  would  sooner  be  seen  in  the  company 
of  me  and  my  kind  than  in  the  company  of 
ambassadors  and  kings." 

"  It  took  some  months,"  said  the  captain 
of  police,  "  to  give  the  force  their  faith  in  Roose- 
velt. They  thought  he  might  be  just  a  flash 
in  the  pan.  But  they  found  out  soon  there  was 
no  bunk  in  him.  He  had  an  open  door  for  any 
member  of  the  force.  Every  man  who  really 
tried  to  do  right  or,  having  gone  crooked,  re- 
formed and  showed  he  was  trying  to  do  right, 
always  received  a  fair  chance.  He  detested 
cowardice  and  shirking  and  the  milk-and-water 
men,  but  he  always  stuck  to  the  man  who  proved 
he  was  doing  or  trying  to  do  his  job." 

"  He  was  a  great  sticker,"  said  the  lieutenant 
of  police. 

"  The  whole  thing  in  a  nutshell  was  this," 
said  the  captain  of  police.  "  The  force,  kickers, 
gamblers,  and  all,  knew  in  their  hearts  that  if 
they  gave  good  and  faithful  service  this  man 
Roosevelt  would  stick  to  them.  And  if  they  in- 
curred the  enmity  of  the  underworld  or  the  po- 
litical world,  no  unjust  accusation  would  hurt 
them.  It  would  help  them,  if  anything." 

"  I've  had  my  troubles  on  the  force  since  he 
left,"  said  the  lieutenant  of  police,  "  and  there's 
been  times  when  I've  felt,  just  as  any  man  would, 


56        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

like  getting  my  revenge,  when  the  chance  came, 
on  men  who  were  trying  to  hurt  me,  or  doing 
things  that  other  men  were  doing,  but  that 
weren't  just  all  right.  But  I  thought  of  him 
and  I  didn't  do  them.  I  said  to  myself,  people 
know  that  you're  his  friend  and  what  you  do 
reflects  on  him.  You  have  a  right  to  dabble 
with  your  own  reputation,  but  you  haven't  a 
right  to  dabble  with  his." 

"  I  guess,"  said  the  captain  of  police,  "  that 
nine-tenths  of  the  men  that's  ever  come  in  con- 
tact with  Theodore  Roosevelt  are  better  and 
squarer  men  because  of  it." 


CHAPTER  IV 

RANCHMAN    AND    HUNTER    IN    THE    GREAT    WEST 

ALMOST  immediately  after  the  Republican 
convention  of  1884,  at  which  Elaine  was  nom- 
inated for  President,  Roosevelt  closed  his  af- 
fairs in  New  York  and  turned  his  face  toward 
the  great  West  for  a  period  of  vigorous  life 
in  the  land  of  broad  skies  and  big  game.  There 
for  two  years  he  studied  the  wildest  traits  of 
Nature  and  of  men  and  found  his  way  into  the 
hearts  of  both.  George  William  Douglas  has 
gathered  and  verified  some  of  the  most  charac- 
teristic incidents  of  this  period  and  by  his  per- 
mission a  few  of  them  are  reproduced  in  this 
•chapter. 

Roosevelt  arrived  at  Medora  on  the  Little 
Missouri  River  in  Dakota  Territory  in  Sep- 


RANCHMAN  AND  HUNTER  £7 

tember  of  1884,  and  when  he  inquired  about 
the  hunting  prospects  was  told  that  he  would 
have  to  ride  fifty  miles  into  a  rough,  unbroken 
country  before  finding  any  big  game.  Saddle- 
horses  were  difficult  to  obtain,  and  were  not 
trustworthy  when  they  could  be  got.  Camping 
in  the  open  was  not  agreeable  or  restful  after 
a  long  day  in  the  saddle,  and  only  strong  men 
voluntarily  endured  the  hardships  of  buffalo 
hunting  in  that  part  of  the  country.  Mr.  Roose- 
velt did  not  look  like  a  strong  man.  He  was 
not  tall  and  then  he  was  rather  slender,  as  a 
young  man  of  less  than  twenty-five  naturally 
would  be.  Besides,  he  wore  glasses,  which 
Westerners  living  in  the  open  fortunately  do 
not  need  till  age  dims  their  sight.  No  one  was 
anxious  to  go  hunting  with  the  slight  Easterner, 
but  finally  his  determination  impressed  Mr.  J. 
A.  Ferris,  an  experienced  guide,  and  he  con- 
sented to  go  with  him. 

"  We  started  out  with  a  hunting  outfit  to  the 
head  of  Bacon  Creek,  about  fifty  miles  from 
the  railroad  crossing,"  said  Mr.  Ferris  later,  in 
describing  the  trip.  "  Mr.  Roosevelt  was  on 
horseback,  and  where  he  learned  to  ride  I  don't 
know ;  but  he  rode  as  well,  if  not  better,  than 
I  did  and  could  stand  just  as  much  knocking 
about. 

"  In  making  or  breaking  camp  he  was  as 
handy  as  a  pocket  in  a  shirt  and  seemed  to  know 
just  what  to  do.  On  the  first  night  out,  when 
we  were  twenty-five  miles  from  a  settlement, 
we  went  into  camp  on  the  open  prairie,  with 
our  saddle-blankets  over  us,  our  horses  picketed 


58        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

and  the  picket  ropes  tied  about  the  horns  of 
our  saddles,  which  we  used  for  pillows. 

"  In  the  middle  of  the  night  there  was  a  rush, 
our  pillows  were  swept  from  under  our  heads 
and  our  horses  went  tearing  off  over  the  prairie, 
frightened  by  wolves.  Away  they  tore,  and  we 
heard  the  saddles  thumping  over  the  ground 
after  them.  Mr.  Roosevelt  was  up  and  off  in 
a  minute.  Together  we  chased  those  frightened 
horses  over  the  prairie  until  they  slackened  speed 
and  we  caught  up  with  them.  The  night  was 
dark  and  there  was  little  to  guide  us  on  our 
return.  Mr.  Roosevelt's  bump  of  locality  was 
good,  and  he  led  the  way  back  to  camp  straight 
as  a  die. 

"  On  the  following  day  we  reached  our  hunt- 
ing grounds,  and  for  several  days  traveled  about 
without  being  able  to  get  a  shot  at  a  buffalo. 
On  the  fourth  or  fifth  day  out,  I  think  it  was, 
while  we  were  riding  along,  our  horses  pricked 
up  their  ears,  as  they  will  do  when  big  game 
is  near,  and  I  told  Mr.  Roosevelt  that  there 
was  a  buffalo  close  at  hand. 

"  We  dismounted  and  advanced  to  a  big  wash- 
out near  by  and  peered  over  the  edge.  There 
stood  a  huge  buffalo  bull  calmly  feeding  and 
unaware  of  our  presence. 

' '  Hit  him  where  that  patch  of  red  shows 
on  his  side,'  said  I,  '  and  you've  got  him.' 

"  Mr.  Roosevelt  was  as  cool  as  a  cucumber. 
He  raised  his  gun  carefully,  took  aim  calmly 
and  fired.  Out  came  the  buffalo  from  the  wash- 
out with  blood  pouring  from  his  mouth  and  nose. 

" '  You've    shot   him,'    I    shouted,    and    so    it 


RANCHMAN  AND  HUNTER  59 

proved,  for  the  buffalo  plunged  a  few  steps  and 
fell  dead." 

Mr.  Roosevelt  had  not  been  long  in  the  West 
before  he  discovered,  if  he  did  not  already  know, 
that  the  social  conventions  there  differ  from 
those  in  the  East.  And  he  had  several  interest- 
ing experiences  before  he  convinced  those  whom 
he  met  that  he  was  entitled  to  as  much  con- 
sideration as  any  self-respecting  Westerner. 

One  evening  after  supper  he  was  reading  at 
a  table  in  the  public  room  of  a  frontier  hotel 
where  he  was  passing  the  night.  The  room  was 
office,  dining-room,  bar-room  and  everything 
else.  A  man,  half  drunk,  came  into  the  hotel 
with  a  swagger,  marched  up  to  the  bar  and  with 
a  flourish  of  his  arm  commanded  everybody  to 
drink.  Everybody  was  willing  to  obey,  that  is, 
everybody  but  Mr.  Roosevelt.  He  still  sat  at 
the  table  busy  with  his  book. 

"  Who's  that  fellow  ?  "  the  man  asked,  point- 
ing in  Roosevelt's  direction. 

"  Oh,  he's  a  tenderfoot,  just  arrived,"  some 
one  said. 

"  Humph,"  he  grunted.  Then  he  turned 
squarely  around  and  called  out :  "  Say  you,  Mr. 
Four-eyes,  I  asked  this  house  to  drink.  Did  you 
hear  me?" 

Mr.  Roosevelt  made  no  reply.  The  man 
swaggered  over  to  him,  pulling  out  his  pistol 
and  firing  as  he  crossed  the  room. 

"  I  want  you  to  understand  that  when  I  ask 
a  man  to  drink  with  me,  that  man's  got  to 
drink,"  he  threatened,  fondling  his  still  smok- 
ing pistol. 


60        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

"  You  must  excuse  me  to-night.  I  do  not 
care  for  anything  to  drink,"  said  Roosevelt. 

"  That  don't  go  here.  You  just  order  your 
drink  or  there'll  be  more  trouble." 

"  Very  well,  sir,"  Roosevelt  replied,  rising 
slowly  to  his  feet  and  waiting  till  he  was  firmly 
poised  on  them  before  completing  his  re- 
mark, "  I  do  not  care  for  anything,  but  if  I 
must  — " 

With  the  word  "must"  he  let  his  fist  fly, 
striking  the  bully  a  terrific  blow  on  the  jaw 
and  knocked  him  to  the  floor.  In  an  instant 
Roosevelt  was  astride  of  him  with  his  knees 
holding  down  the  man's  arms.  After  taking 
away  all  the  weapons  he  could  find  he  let  the 
man  up. 

"  Now,  I  hope  you  understand,  sir,  that  I 
do  not  care  to  drink  with  you,"  said  the  young 
"  tenderfoot,"  who  had  hardened  his  muscles  to 
some  purpose  before  he  went  West. 

This  is  the  common  version  of  the  story.  Mr. 
Roosevelt  has  referred  to  the  incident  in  this 
way :  "  I  was  never  shot  at  maliciously  but 
once.  This  was  on  the  occasion  when  I  had  to 
pass  the  night  in  a  little  frontier  hotel  where 
the  bar-room  occupied  the  place  where  every 
one,  drunk  or  sober,  had  to  sit.  My  assailant 
was  neither  a  cowboy  nor  a  bona  fide  '  bad  man,' 
but  a  broad-hatted  ruffian  of  a  cheap  and  com- 
monplace type  who  had  for  the  moment  terror- 
ized the  other  men  in  the  bar-room,  these  being 
mostly  sheep-herders  and  small  grangers.  The 
fact  that  I  wore  glasses,  together  with  my  evi- 
dent desire  to  avoid  a  fight,  apparently  gave 


RANCHMAN  AND  HUNTER  61 

him  the  impression  —  a  mistaken  one  —  that  I 
would  not  resent  an  injury." 

When  the  Marquis  de  Mores,  whose  ranch 
was  in  the  same  part  of  the  territory  as  Mr. 
Roosevelt's,  attempted  to  bulldoze  him  —  there 
is  no  foundation  in  the  story  that  the  Marquis 
challenged  him  to  a  duel  —  he  met  the  situation 
with  perfect  self-possession.  The  Marquis  had 
the  reputation  of  being  a  "  bad  man."  This 
was  because  he  was  a  mediaeval  Frenchman  born 
out  of  his  time,  and  thought  that  any  reflection 
upon  his  honor  or  upon  anything  that  concerned 
him  must  be  resented  to  the  death.  Naturally 
he  got  into  frequent  trouble  in  the  democratic 
surroundings  of  the  cattle  country  and  he  was 
not  let  alone  until  he  had  killed  a  man.  This 
did  not  improve  his  reputation,  and  when  his 
cowboys  and  Roosevelt's  clashed,  everybody  ex- 
pected trouble  between  the  masters. 

The  Marquis  justified  the  expectation  by  send- 
ing a  messenger  to  Mr.  Roosevelt,  bearing  a 
letter  containing  the  intimation  that  there  was 
a  way  for  gentlemen  to  settle  their  differences 
and  calling  his  attention  to  it.  This  was  as 
near  a  challenge  to  a  duel  as  it  came,  but  it 
was  near  enough.  Roosevelt  did  not  think 
dueling  worth  while,  and,  regardless  of  the  prec- 
edents of  .an  antiquated  code,  he  sent  word  that 
there  must  be  some  misunderstanding,  and  that 
he  would  follow  the  messenger  in  an  hour  or  so 
to  discover  what  it  was  all  about.  The  Mar- 
quis, as  soon  as  the  reply  arrived,  not  to  be 
made  ridiculous  by  such  a  matter-of-fact  treat- 
ment of  the  case,  sent  another  messenger  to  meet 


62        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

Mr.  Roosevelt  with  an  invitation  to  dinner. 
The  invitation  was  accepted,  and  coffee  for  two 
was  served  without  the  pistols  of  the  old-fash- 
ioned "  affair  of  honor." 

Mr.  Roosevelt  had  been  ranching  some  time 
when  this  happened.  It  was  during  his  buffalo- 
hunting  trip  that  he  decided  that  the  country 
which  supported  big  game  would  also  support 
cattle,  and  he  made  arrangements  to  fatten 
steers  on  the  land,  supplying  the  cattle  in  the 
first  place  to  a  partner  who  had  a  ranch.  Later 
he  acquired  two  ranches  and  persisted  in  the 
business  for  some  years,  notwithstanding  the 
severe  losses  he  sustained  through  the  destruc- 
tion of  his  cattle  by  blizzards.  He  lived  and 
worked  among  his  men  and  was  like  them  save 
that  he  carried  a  razor  and  read  good  literature. 
He  usually  carried  a  book  or  two  with  him  on 
his  hunting  trips  or  whenever  he  expected  to  be 
away  from  the  ranch-house  for  any  great  length 
of  time.  He  had  pocket  editions  of  Burns  and 
Shakespeare  and  other  classics. 

On  one  occasion  while  he  was  hunting  for  a 
lost  horse,  he  was  overtaken  at  night  by  a  snow- 
storm and  took  refuge  in  a  deserted  hut  in  com- 
pany with  a  cowboy  whom  he  had  run  across 
on  a  similar  errand.  There  were  no  inhabited 
houses,  if  there  were  houses  of  any  kind,  for 
many  miles.  The  two  men  built  a  fire  and  ate 
their  supper  together.  Then  "  to  while  away  the 
long  evening,"  Mr.  Roosevelt  writes,  "  I  read 
Hamlet  aloud  from  a  little  pocket  Shakespeare. 
The  cowboy,  a  Texan  —  one  of  the  best  riders 
I  have  ever  seen,  and  also  a  very  intelligent  as 


RANCHMAN  AND  HUNTER  63 

well  as  a  thoroughly  good  fellow  in  every  way 
—  was  greatly  interested  in  it  and  commented 
most  shrewdly  on  the  parts  he  liked,  especially 
Polonius's  advice  to  Laertes,  which  he  translated 
into  homely  language  with  great  relish,  and 
ended  with  the  just  criticism  that  '  old  Shakes- 
peare saveyed  human  natur'  some.' " 

In  all  respects,  Mr.  Roosevelt  entered  into 
the  life  about  him  with  a  wholesome  zest.  His 
horses  were  as  good  as  the  best,  and  his  men, 
both  those  whom  he  took  with  him  from  the 
East  and  those  whom  he  employed  in  the  West, 
were  as  loyal  to  him  as  it  was  possible  for  men 
to  be.  He  washed  his  own  clothes  the  same 
as  the  others.  He  went  to  the  frontier  balls 
and  danced  with  the  women,  opening  one  cow- 
boy ball  with  the  wife  of  a  small  stockman, 
who  had  not  long  before  killed  a  noted  bully 
of  the  neighborhood  in  self-defense,  the  stock- 
man himself  dancing  opposite.  The  dance  was 
the  lanciers,  and  Mr.  Roosevelt  says  that  the 
stockman  knew  all  the  steps  better  than  he  did. 

During  his  residence  in  the  West  he  did  not 
forget  his  duties  as  an  orderly  citizen  of  a  dis- 
orderly country,  in  which  each  man  had  to  de- 
fend his  own  property.  The  part  of  the  terri- 
tory in  which  he  was  living  had  been  pretty 
well  cleared  of  horse  and  cattle  stealers  in  the 
early  winter  of  1885,  but  three  suspected  men 
remained,  and  as  spring  approached  they  became 
anxious  to  leave  that  part  of  the  country,  as 
threats  to  lynch  them  had  been  made. 

The  leader  of  these  three  was  named  Finne- 
gan.  He  usually  explained  that  he  was  "  from 


64        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

Bittle  Creek,  where  the  further  up  you  went  the 
worse  people  got,"  and  he  "  lived  at  the  fountain 
head,"  a  description,  when  you  come  to  think 
of  it,  not  devoid  of  merit.  Finnegan  and  his 
companions  —  a  German  and  a  half-breed  — 
had  a  hut  on  the  river-bank  about  twenty  miles 
above  Roosevelt's  ranch,  and  Roosevelt  knew  it. 
Therefore,  when  one  of  his  men  told  him,  in 
March,  1886,  that  his  Eastern-built  skiff,  used 
in  crossing  the  Little  Missouri  to  the  horse 
range  on  the  other  side,  had  been  stolen,  he  at 
once  decided  that  these  men  were  the  thieves. 
The  skiff  was  light  and  strong  and  was  much 
more  easily  handled  than  the  flat-bottomed 
scow  which  they  were  known  to  have. 

Mr.  Roosevelt  decided  to  deliver  the  men  up 
to  justice,  if  possible,  as  he  believed  that  to  sub- 
mit tamely  on  this  occasion  would  invite  further 
depredations  from  lawless  characters.  He  there- 
fore had  Sewall  and  Dow,  the  two  Maine  men 
whom  he  had  taken  with  him  to  the  West,  make 
a  flat-bottomed  boat.  They  completed  it  in 
three  days  of  rapid  work.  Then  it  was  loaded 
with  provisions  enough  to  last  for  about  two 
weeks,  and  Mr.  Roosevelt,  Dow,  and  Sewall 
embarked  in  it  in  pursuit  of  the  thieves.  They 
counted  on  overtaking  them  in  a  short  time,  as 
they  knew  that  Finnegan  was  aware  that  the 
Roosevelt  skiff  was  the  only  boat  besides  his 
own  scow  on  that  part  of  the  river  and  would 
conclude  that  he  was  safe  from  pursuit.  It  was 
not  practicable  to  follow  the  thieves  down  the 
river  on  horseback.  Finnegan  had  not  counted 
on  the  building  of  a  new  boat,  so  he  was  taken 


RANCHMAN  AND  HUNTER  65 

unawares,  when,  on  the  afternoon  of  the  third 
day  of  the  pursuit,  Roosevelt's  party,  as  they 
turned  a  bend  in  the  river,  saw  the  smoke  from 
a  camp  fire  and  not  far  from  it,  on  the  river- 
bank,  the  stolen  boat  tied  to  the  shore.  Then 
they  knew  that  the  thieves  could  not  be  far 
away.  They  fastened  their  own  boat  to  the  bank 
and  separated,  planning  to  surround  the  camp. 
When  they  came  near  enough  to  see  what  was 
going  on  they  discovered  that  only  ojie  of  the 
three  men  was  there,  and  he  was  sitting  down 
without  his  weapons. 

Mr.  Roosevelt  covered  him  with  his  gun  and 
ordered  him  to  hold  up  his  hands.  Then  the 
three  men  rushed  in  and  searched  him  to  make 
sure  that  he  had  no  pistols  in  his  pockets,  and 
to  prevent  him  from  giving  an  alarm  to  his 
companions.  Dow  was  left  in  charge  of  the 
prisoner  while  Sewall  and  Mr.  Roosevelt  went 
some  distance  to  a  point  from  which  they  com- 
manded all  paths  to  the  camp  and  awaited  the 
return  of  the  others.  After  a  time  they  heard 
voices  approaching,  and  soon  Finnegan  and  his 
companion  came  in  sight.  They  were  at  once 
covered  by  the  Roosevelt  guns  and  commanded 
to  surrender.  As  they  had  no  alternative  worth 
considering,  they  obeyed  and  were  marched  back 
to  the  camp,  where  they  were  to  spend  the  night. 
It  was  bitterly  cold,  and  the  problem  of  guard- 
ing their  prisoners  became  a  difficult  one.  If 
their  feet  and  arms  were  bound  tightly  enough 
to  make  them  helpless,  the  circulation  of  the 
blood  would  be  stopped  and  the  hands  and  feet 
of  the  men  would  be  frozen.  As  the  next  best 


66        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

way  of  making  the  men  helpless,  their  boots 
were  taken  off  and  they  were  compelled  to  sleep 
all  together  in  one  blanket.  The  country  was 
so  full  of  prickly  cactus  that  Mr.  Roosevelt 
knew  the  men  would  not  attempt  to  escape  in 
their  stocking  feet.  As  an  additional  precau- 
tion, the  night  was  divided  into  two  watches, 
one  of  the  captors  sitting  up  half  the  night  and 
another  the  other  half,  while  the  third  man  had 
his  sleep  unbroken.  Early  the  following  morn- 
ing the  start  was  made  down  the  river  to  the 
nearest  sheriff  and  jail,  which  they  hoped  to 
reach  in  three  or  four  days  at  the  most.  But 
their  plans  were  disarranged  by  the  ice  in  the 
river.  For  ten  days  they  followed  an  ice- jam 
down  stream,  which  moved  so  slowly  that  before 
they  reached  the  "  C  Diamond "  ranch,  their 
provisions  were  almost  exhausted  and  for  two 
or  three  days  they  had  been  living  on  flour  and 
water  mixed  up  together  and  baked.  On  the 
outskirts  of  this  ranch  they  found  a  hut  with 
a  solitary  cowboy  and  some  bronchos.  Mr. 
Roosevelt  left  his  prisoners  here  while  he  rode 
to  a  ranch  fifteen  miles  away,  where  he  was 
told  he  could  get  a  wagon  for  carrying  them 
safely  to  the  sheriff  at  Dickinson.  After  en- 
gaging the  wagon,  a  "  prairie  schooner,"  and  a 
team  of  horses,  with  the  ranchman  for  a  driver, 
he  returned  to  the  cowboy's  hut  and  his  prison- 
ers. 

The  next  day  he  walked  the  prisoners,  with 
Dow  and  Sewall  as  assistant  guards,  to  the 
ranchman's  house  and  loaded  them  into  the 
schooner.  Then  he  dismissed  Sewall  and  Dow 


RANCHMAN  AND  HUNTER  67 

and  sent  them  back  up  the  river  with  the  boats. 
The  start  for  Dickinson  and  the  jail  was  made 
with  Mr.  Roosevelt  on  foot  behind  the  wagon 
with  his  cocked  gun  over  his  shoulder.  He 
knew  that  the  only  way  to  prevent  the  men  from 
over-powering  him  was  to  remain  out  of  their 
reach  and  to  keep  his  gun  ready.  The  trail  over 
the  prairie  was  a  track  of  deep  mud  and  progress 
was  slow. 

Night  overtook  the  party  at  a  small  hut,  where 
they  stopped.  The  prisoners  were  put  into  the 
upper  bunk,  from  which  it  would  not  be  easy 
for  them  to  get  out,  and  Mr.  Roosevelt  mounted 
guard  over  them,  seated  with  his  back  against 
the  cabin  door  all  night,  fighting  sleep.  It  was 
one  armed  man  against  three  desperadoes  and 
the  possible  treachery  of  his  own  physical  ex- 
haustion. The  one  man  with  the  gun  remained 
master  of  the  situation  and  got  his  prisoners 
into  the  wagon  again  all  right  in  the  morning 
and  followed  them  into  town  on  foot,  arriving 
there  about  six  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  com- 
pletely exhausted  after  thirty-six  hours  with- 
out sleep.  He  turned  them  over  to  the  sheriff 
with  a  statement  of  the  charge  against  them. 
Then,  after  making  up  his  lost  sleep,  he  returned 
to  his  ranch,  satisfied  that  he  had  established 
his  reputation  for  taking  care  of  his  own  prop- 
erty. 

These  three  prisoners  were  the  last  of  the 
gang  of  outlaws  the  expulsion  of  whom  from 
that  part  of  the  country  had  been  begun  some 
time  before  the  skiff  was  stolen.  A  meeting  of 
the  cattle-men  had  been  held  in  the  freight  shed 


68        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

at  Medora  to  form  an  organization  for  their  mu- 
tual protection  against  the  marauders.  It  had 
been  openly  hinted  that  a  certain  deputy  sheriff 
was  in  collusion  with  the  outlaws.  The  deputy 
was  present  at  the  meeting. 

After  the  preliminaries  of  organization,  it  is 
said  that  Mr.  Roosevelt  rose  in  his  place  and 
addressed  the  deputy.  He  openly  accused  the 
man  of  dishonesty  and  incompetency,  and  ignor- 
ing the  menace  of  the  officer's  revolver,  the 
handle  of  which  was  projecting  above  his  belt, 
he  expressed  his  scorn  of  him  as  a  man  un- 
worthy and  unfit  for  the  office  which  he  held. 
The  disappearance  of  the  next  cow,  he  declared, 
might  become  the  signal  for  declaring  the  cor- 
rupt official's  office  vacant,  and  it  was  not  with- 
out the  pale  of  possibility  that  certain  of  Roose- 
velt's friends,  whom  he  might  be  unable  to  re- 
strain, might  invoke  the  assistance  of  a  rope 
or  a  Winchester  in  protecting  their  herds  from 
depredations.  In  the  history  of  that  part  of  the 
country  such  a  speech  had  never  been  heard 
before.  Few  men  would  have  had  the  courage 
to  make  such  an  accusation  in  such  a  company, 
and  many  of  those  present  held  their  breath  till 
they  saw  that  the  accused  man  dared  not  re- 
taliate. He  sat  with  downcast  head  and  said 
not  a  word ;  but  his  prestige  was  gone  forever, 
and  it  was  not  long  before  another  deputy  suc- 
ceeded him.  Thereafter  the  ranchmen  of  the 
Kildeer  Mountain  region  came  to  have  a  serene 
feeling  as  they  turned  into  their  blankets  at 
night  that  their  herds  of  cows  would  not  dim- 
inish before  morning. 


RANCHMAN  AND  HUNTER  69 

From  that  time  on  Roosevelt's  position  in  the 
West  was  one  of  distinction  among  the  men  of 
the  plains.  His  real  business  among  those  men 
was  raising  cattle  and  caring  for  them  on  the 
plains,  and  if  anything  could  have  raised  him  in 
their  estimation  more  than  his  determination  to 
be  a  real  "  cattle  man  "  as  distinct  from  a  "  sheep 
man,"  it  was  the  display  of  nerve  which  he  never 
lacked. 

It  seemed  to  make  no  difference  that  men 
"  were  supposed  to  go  about  with  their  fingers 
on  the  triggers  of  their  guns,"  Roosevelt  never 
hesitated  to  stand  up  to  those  who  boasted  of 
several  notches  on  the  handles  of  their  revolvers. 
The  editor  of  the  Bad  Lands  Cowboy  has  told  of 
a  scene  of  this  kind  which  took  place  in  his 
office,  where  Mr.  Roosevelt  used  to  drop  in  and 
gossip  with  his  widely  scattered  neighbors.  He 
had  listened  with  manifest  disgust  to  the  low 
talk  of  one  of  the  most  noted  "  bad  men  "  in 
the  country,  on  the  occasion  which  the  editor  has 
recalled. 

Mr.  Roosevelt  knew  that  this  man  had  well 
earned  his  repute  for  badness  and  was  always 
ready  to  shoot  up  things  on  the  least  provoca- 
tion. Nevertheless,  when  he  was  thoroughly 
tired  of  the  fellow's  tales,  it  did  not  occur  to 
him  to  be  afraid  to  say  so.  On  the  contrary, 
he  looked  him  straight  in  the  eye  and,  speaking 
in  a  low  voice  and  "  skinning  his  teeth,"  said, 
"  Jim,  I  like  you ;  but  you  are  the  nastiest  talk- 
ing man  I  ever  heard."  This  candor  took  the 
breath  away  from  the  men  who  were  sitting 
around  the  office,  and  every  eye  was  on  Jim's 


70        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

right  hand  to  see  if  he  would  pull  his  "  gun." 
Instead  of  that,  they  saw  a  sheepish  look  come 
into  his  hard  face,  and  heard  him  say,  in  a 
tone  of  apology :  "  I  don't  belong  to  your  out- 
fit, Mr.  Roosevelt)  and  I  am  not  beholden  to 
you  for  anything.  All  the  same,  I  don't  mind 
saying  that  mebbe  I've  been  a  little  too  free 
with  my  mouth."  Jim  knew  that  he  had  been 
told  the  truth  for  once,  and  without  fear  and 
without  malice.  He  always  remembered  it  to 
the  credit  of  the  man  who  had  dared  to  speak 
what  he  thought,  and  remained  a  loyal  friend  of 
Theodore  Roosevelt. 

There  were  other  things  in  this  Western  life 
besides  taming  bullies  and  defying  negligent  of- 
ficials. The  business  there  was  raising  cattle 
and  taking  care  of  them  on  the  plains.  Mr. 
Roosevelt  rode  with  his  cowboys  and  was  as 
good  as  any  of  them.  On  the  round-up  -he  en- 
dured all  sorts  of  hardships  with  his  men,  rid- 
ing all  day  and  sleeping  on  the  ground  at  night. 
On  one  rainy  night  he  was  awakened  by  the 
report  that  his  cattle  were  being  driven  before  the 
storm  and  were  in  danger  of  stampeding.  Every 
man  rushed  to  his  horse,  saddled  him  and  rode 
to  the  herd,  hoping  to  head  it  off.  But  the 
storm  raged  and  the  cattle  continued  to  retreat 
before  it,  at  first  slowly,  but  as  the  thunder 
grew  louder  the  animals  began  to  show  terror, 
and  it  was  not  long  before  the  men  were  riding 
for  their  life  in  front  of  the  stampeding  brutes. 

A  vivid  flash  of  lightning  revealed  an  empty 
corral  not  far  away,  and  Mr.  Roosevelt  shouted 
to  the  two  men  near  him  to  make  an  opening 


RANCHMAN  AND  HUNTER  71 

into  it,  while  he  tried  to  guide  the  cattle  around 
to  it.  By  the  time  two  sections  of  the  fence 
were  down  Roosevelt  dashed  through  on  his 
horse,  with  the  maddened  animals  at  his  heels, 
and  he  barely  escaped  through  a  narrow  open- 
ing at  the  other  side.  The  herd  was  saved  with 
the  exception  of  a  few  animals  that  were 
trampled  to  death  in  the  struggle  to  get  through 
the  break  in  the  fence.  Then  the  ranch-owner 
and  his  men  rolled  themselves  in  their  blankets 
and  went  to  sleep  again. 

Mr.  Roosevelt  not  only  stood  the  test  when 
it  was  a  question  of  presence  of  mind  or  of 
physical  endurance,  but  also  when  it  was  a  ques- 
tion of  public  spirit  It  was  while  on  a  hunting 
trip  with  three  other  men  that  he  fought  a  fire 
on  a  cattle  range  all  one  night  that  he  might 
save  the  grass  for  his  own  and  his  neighbors' 
cattle.  He  had  noticed  the  fire  in  the  morning 
away  to  the  southward,  and  thought  it  was  too 
far  off  to  be  of  concern  to  him;  but  in  the 
afternoon  he  was  surprised  to  see  it  bursting 
out  not  more  than  a  mile  away. 

After  he  and  his  companions  had  vainly 
striven  to  turn  the  course  of  the  flames  he  rode 
off  to  seek  a  way  of  escape,  but  the  fire  was 
moving  so  rapidly  that  he  soon  saw  that  their 
only  way  out  would  be  cut  off  before  they  could 
reach  it.  He  hastened  back  to  the  men  and  the 
hunting  wagon,  which  he  found  on  the  lee  of 
a  damp  stretch  of  ground,  where  the  men  were 
busily  engaged  in  beating  down  the  grass,  so 
that  when  the  fire  passed  around  the  place  it 
might  not  eat  back  to  where  they  were.  They 


72        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

succeeded  in  saving  their  belongings,  as  the  fire 
went  around  them,  as  they  had  planned. 

When  the  wind  went  down  at  sunset  they 
killed  a  stray  steer  that  had  been  caught  for 
the  purpose,  and  split  the  carcass  open  down 
the  center.  They  dragged  one  half  of  this  to  the 
fire,  which  was  now  eating  its  way  slowly  along 
in  a  line  not  much  broader  than  the  length  of 
the  steer's  body.  A  passageway  was  beaten 
through  the  flames  to  the  dry  grass  on  the  other 
side  and  one  of  the  horses  forced  through  with 
a  rope  attached  to  one  end  of  the  carcass.  The 
other  end  of  the  carcass  was  attached  to  another 
horse,  so  that  the  wet  and  bloody  flesh  might  be 
dragged  along  the  ground,  extinguishing  the 
flames.  Mr.  Roosevelt  rode  one  of  the  horses, 
and  one  of  his  men  the  other,  while  the  two  re- 
maining men  walked  behind  and  stamped  out 
what  few  sparks  were  left.  They  continued  till 
the  flesh  was  worn  off  the  bones  and  the  back- 
bone broke.  Then  they  got  the  other  half  of 
the  carcass  and  used  it  up  the  same  way,  work- 
ing all  night,  and  then  stopping  only  because 
they  were  completely  exhausted.  They  made 
a  heroic  effort,  but  four  men  and  one  steer  car- 
cass were  not  enough  to  put  out  a  fire  in  the 
rough  country. 

From  boyhood  Roosevelt  had  been  an  ac- 
complished rider,  and  after  very  little  experi- 
ence in  ranching  he  learned  to  sit  in  his  saddle 
and  ride  his  horse  like  a  life-long  plainsman, 
says  James  Morgan,  who  tells  the  following 
two  incidents  of  tricks  played  on  Mr.  Roose- 
velt by  playful  cowpunchers:  He  was  in 


RANCHMAN  AND  HUNTER  73 

Medora  waiting  for  a  train  that  was  to  bring 
a  guest  from  the  East.  While  he  was  in  a  store, 
the  jokers  placed  his  saddle  on  a  notoriously 
vicious  beast  which  they  substituted  for  Mr. 
Roosevelt's  mount.  When  he  came  out,  in  haste 
to  ride  around  to  the  railroad  station,  he  did 
not  detect  the  deception. 

Once  he  was  on  the  horse's  back,  he  was 
made  instantly  aware  of  the  change.  The 
broncho  bucked  and  whirled,  to  the  amusement 
of  the  grinning  villagers.  But  to  their  amaze- 
ment, the  young  ranchman  succeeded  in  staying 
on  him  and  spurring  him  into  a  run.  Away 
they  flew  to  the  prairies  and  soon  back  they 
raced  in  a  cloud  of  a  dust  and  through  the  town. 
The  friend  from  the  East  arrived  and  joined 
the  spectators,  who  waited  to  see  if  the  young 
squire  of  Elkhorn  ever  would  return.  In  a  little 
while  he  was  seen  coming  along  the  road  at  a 
gentle  gait,  and  when  he  reached  the  starting 
point,  he  dismounted  with  a  smile  of  quiet  mas- 
tery from  as  meek  a  creature  as  ever  stood  on 
four  legs. 

He  had  no  use,  however,  for  a  horse  whose 
spirit  ran  altogether  to  ugliness.  When  he  first 
went  West,  he  doubted  the  theory  of  the  natives 
that  any  horse  was  hopelessly  bad.  For  in- 
stance, there  was  one  in  the  sod-roofed  log 
stable  of  Elkhorn  who  had  been  labeled  "  The 
Devil."  Mr.  Roosevelt  believed  that  gentleness 
would  overcome  Devil.  The  boys  thought  it 
might  if  he  should  live  to  be  seventy-five.  After 
much  patient  wooing,  Devil  actually  let  Mr. 
Roosevelt  lay  his  hand  on  him  and  pat  him. 


74        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

The  boys  began  to  think  that  possibly  there 
was  something  in  this  new  plan  of  bronco  bust- 
ing. 

One  day,  however,  when  his  gentle  trainer 
made  bold  to  saddle  and  mount  him,  Devil 
quickly  drew  his  four  hoofs  together,  leaped 
into  the  air  and  came  down  with  a  jerk  and  a 
thud.  Then  he  finished  with  a  few  fancy  curves 
that  landed  his  disillusioned  rider  a  good  many 
yards  in  front  of  him.  Mr.  Roosevelt  sprang  to 
his  feet  and  on  to  the  back  of  the  animal.  Four 
times  he  was  thrown,  and  one  of  the  onlookers 
has  vowed  that  sometimes  he  could  see  twelve 
acres  of  land  between  him  and  the  saddle. 
Finally  the  determined  rider  maneuvered  Devil 
out  on  to  a  quicksand,  where  bucking  is  im- 
possible, and  when  at  last  he  was  driven  back 
to  solid  earth  he  was  like  a  lamb. 

In  this  rough  life  of  the  range  the  young 
ranchman  conquered  forever  the  physical  weak- 
ness of  his  youth  and  put  on  that  rugged  strength 
which  enabled  him  to  stand  before  the  world, 
a  model  of  vigorous  manhood. 

In  the  fall  of  1886  Roosevelt  had  been  sum- 
moned back  to  New  York  to  make  the  Independ- 
ent-Reform-Republican campaign  for  Mayor, 
but  the  following  spring  he  returned  to  North 
Dakota  to  look  after  his  cattle.  The  winter  had 
been  terribly  severe,  and  half  his  herd  had  per- 
ished. He  took  the  heavy  loss,  as  he  took  every 
defeat,  without  complaining,  and  never  lost  his 
spirit  of  tender  solicitude  for  any  in  need  of 
help.  Cowboys  who  were  with  him  in  the  spring 
round-up  that  year,  says  the  Chicago  Tribune, 


RANCHMAN  AND  HUNTER  75 

will  never  forget  his  act  of  kindness  to  a  weak- 
ling calf,  as  illustrative  of  the  gentler  side  of 
his  nature. 

The  expedition  comprised  about  one  hundred 
cowboys,  who  represented  several  ranches,  and 
was  divided  into  "  outfits "  of  twenty  men  to 
each.  The  foreman  of  Colonel  Roosevelt's 
ranch  was  foreman  of  the  round-up.  This  was 
before  Roosevelt  became  a  colonel,  and  the  cow- 
boys all  called  him  "  Teddy." 

Before  the  plainsmen  galloped  away  from 
Medora  on  the  morning  of  May  I5th,  Roose- 
velt told  his  foreman  that  he  wished  to  be  treated 
no  better  than  any  other  man  in  the  party.  He 
was  anxious  and  willing  to  do  his  share  of  the 
work,  he  said,  and  the  relations  existing  between 
employer  and  employee  were  to  be  forgotten  until 
after  the  round-up. 

Rudolph  Lehmicke,  a  former  cowboy,  and 
later  a  compositor  on  The  Tribune,  who  was 
with  the  expedition,  tells  the  following  story 
of  Roosevelt's  saving  the  life  of  a  calf. 

"  We  had  been  out  about  three  weeks  and  had 
not  met  with  any  unusual  adventure.  It  had 
rained  steadily  two  days  and  nights  of  the  third 
week,  and  every  man  in  the  round-up  was 
drenched  to  the  skin.  With  the  exception  of 
Colonel  Roosevelt,  or  Teddy,  as  we  then  called 
him,  all  of  us  were  used  to  that  rough  life,  and 
we  half  expected  him  to  plead  illness  when  at 
three  o'clock  the  next  morning  we  turned  out 
with  the  rain  still  pelting.  But  he  was  in  the 
saddle  as  quickly  as  any  of  us  and  not  a  word 
of  complaint  did  he  utter. 


76        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

"  On  this  day  Roosevelt,  Merle  Bentley,  and 
myself  were  driving  what  is  called  the  day 
herd.  This  is  a  bunch  of  cattle  that  have  strayed 
away  from  their  own  ranges  during  the  winter. 
The  brand  shows  to  whom  they  belong.  Stray 
cattle  are  gathered  up  and  driven  over  the 
divide,  being  headed  down  to  their  own 
ranges. 

*'  About  noon  we  came  across  a  small  bunch 
of  cattle,  among  which  was  a  cow  with  a  calf 
not  more  than  a  week  old.  It  was  still  raining 
in  torrents.  When  the  cattle  separated  and 
broke  into  a  run,  we  saw  the  calf  for  the  first 
time.  The  mother  cow  was  compelled  to  lag 
behind  on  account  of  the  calf's  inability  to  travel 
fast.  Bentley  was  riding  nearest  the  calf  and 
mother,  and  he  tried  to  urge  them  on  to  join 
those  ahead. 

"  Teddy  had  been  watching  the  feeble  efforts 
of  the  calf  to  keep  along  with  the  mother,  and 
he  was  touched  by  the  little  fellow's  plucky 
struggle  to  follow.  He  rode  over  to  Bentley 
and  in  a  good-natured  way  asked  him  to  ex- 
change positions.  Bentley  galloped  off  to  an- 
other part  of  the  field,  glad  to  get  rid  of  the 
troublesome  calf. 

"  Teddy  rode  along  slowly  to  accommodate 
the  pace  of  the  calf,  but  after  half  an  hour's 
struggle  the  little  fellow  had  to  give  up.  With 
a  bleat  he  fell  from  exhaustion.  Teddy  got 
off  his  horse,  picked  the  calf  up  in  his  arms, 
put  it  on  the  saddle  in  front  of  him,  and  rode 
along  for  a  couple  of  miles.  The  mother  cow 
trotted  along  at  the  horse's  side,  and  her  big 


RANCHMAN  AND  HUNTER  77 

brown  eyes  seemed  to  express  the  gratitude  she 
felt. 

"  The  calf  was  put  down  after  its  rest  in  the 
saddle,  and  by  great  exertion  it  managed  to  keep 
along  with  the  mother  for  a  mile  or  so.  Its 
strength  again  gave  out  and  it  sank  to  the 
ground.  Teddy  sprang  from  his  horse  and  again 
placed  the  little  beast  on  the  saddle  in  front  of 
him. 

"  This  was  repeated  three  or  four  times,  I 
think,  before  it  was  decided  to  let  the  calf  lie 
where  it  had  fallen  in  the  last  brave  struggle. 
Usually  in  such  cases  the  mother  cow  is  driven 
along  with  the  day  herd,  and  the  abandoned 
calf  soon  dies  of  hunger  and  exposure.  We 
were  going  to  do  this  when  Teddy  said : 

"  '  Boys,  it  doesn't  seem  just  right  to  drive 
away  the  mother  and  leave  the  calf  to  die  on 
the  prairie.  That's  hardly  a  square  deal.  What 
do  you  say  if  we  leave  the  mother  with  the 
little  fellow,  and  in  a  few  days  he  will  be  able 
to  paddle  his  own  canoe  ? ' 

"  Bentley  and  I  wanted  to  laugh,  but  we  didn't, 
and  we  rode  away." 

The  serious  work  of  cattle-raising  was  inter- 
spersed with  hunting  trips,  both  for  big  game 
and  small.  Mr.  Roosevelt  was  never  a  "  dead 
shot,"  but  he  was  fairly  successful  with  the 
rifle,  and  many  incidents  are  told  of  his  hunt- 
ing journeys.  The  following  is  told  by  Edward 
Stratemeyer,  in  his  "  American  Boy's  Life  of 
Roosevelt,"  as  illustrating  the  tireless  persistence 
which  was  one  of  Roosevelt's  best  qualifications 
as  a  hunter : 


78        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

There  were  no  "elk  in  the  immediate  vicinity 
of  Theodore  Roosevelt's  ranches,  nor  were  there 
many  bear  or  buffalo.  But  all  these  animals 
were  to  be  met  with  further  westward,  and 
the  young  ranchman  had  been  after  them  dur- 
ing a  previous  year's  hunting  while  on  a  trip 
to  Montana  and  Wyoming. 

At  that  time  the  destination  of  the  party  was 
the  Bighorn  Mountains,  which  were  reached  only 
after  a  painful  and  disheartening  journey  over  a 
very  uncertain  Indian  trail,  during  which  one 
of  the  ponies  fell  into  a  washout  and  broke  his 
neck,  and  a  mule  stuck  fast  in  a  mud-hole  and 
was  extricated  only  after  hours  of  hard  work. 

"  It  was  on  the  second  day  of  our  journey  into 
the  mountains  that  I  got  my  first  sight  of  elk," 
says  Mr.  Roosevelt.  The  party  was  on  the  trail 
leading  into  a  broad  valley,  moving  slowly  and 
cautiously  along  through  a  patch  of  pine  trees. 
When  the  bottom  of  the  valley  was  gained,  Mr. 
Roosevelt  saw  a  herd  of  cow  elk  at  a  great  dis- 
tance, and  soon  after  took  a  shot  at  one,  but 
failed  to  reach  his  mark. 

"  I  am  going  after  that  herd,"  he  said.  And 
as  soon  as  the  party  had  pitched  camp,  he  sallied 
forth  in  one  direction,  while  his  foreman,  Merri- 
field,  took  another. 

As  Theodore  had  supposed,  the  elk  had  gone 
off  in  a  bunch,  and  for  some  distance  it  was 
easy  to  follow  them.  But  further  on  the  herd 
had  spread  out,  and  he  had  to  follow  with  more 
care,  for  fear  of  getting  on  the  wrong  trail,  for 
elk  tracks  ran  in  all  directions  over  the  moun- 
tains. Their  tracks  are  there  to-day,  but  the 


RANCHMAN  AND  HUNTER  79 

elk  and  the  bears  are  fast  disappearing,  for  ruth- 
less hunters  have  done  their  best  to  exterminate 
the  game. 

After  passing  along  for  several  miles,  Theo- 
dore Roosevelt  felt  he  must  be  drawing  close 
to  the  herd.  Just  then  his  rifle  happened  to  tap 
on  the  trunk  of  a  tree,  and  instantly  he  heard 
the  elk  moving  away  in  new  alarm.  His  hunt- 
ing blood  was  now  aroused,  and  he  rushed  for- 
ward with  all  speed,  but  as  silently  as  possible. 
By  taking  a  short  cut,  the  young  ranchman  man- 
aged to  come  up  beside  the  running  elk.  They 
were  less  than  twenty  yards  away,  and  had  it 
not  been  for  the  many  trees  which  were  on 
every  side,  he  would  have  had  an  excellent  shot 
at  them.  As  it  was  he  brought  low  a  fine,  full- 
grown  cow  elk,  and  hit  a  bull  calf  in  the  hind  leg. 
Later  on  he  took  up  the  trail  of  the  calf  and 
finished  that  also. 

Of  this  herd  the  foreman  also  brought  down 
two,  so  that  for  the  time  being  the  hunters  had 
all  the  meat  they  needed.  But  Theodore  Roose- 
velt was  anxious  to  obtain  some  elk  horns  as 
trophies  of  the  chase,  and  day  after  day  a  watch 
was  kept  for  bull  elk,  as  the  hunters  moved 
the  camp  from  one  place  to  another. 

At  last  the  long-looked-for  opportunity  ar- 
rived. Three  big  bulls  were  seen,  and  Roose- 
velt and  his  man  went  after  them  with  all  pos- 
sible speed.  They  were  on  foot,  and  the  trail 
led  them  over  some  soft  ground,  and  then 
through  a  big  patch  of  burnt  timber.  Here  run- 
ning was  by  no  means  easy,  and  more  than 
once  both  hunters  pitched  headlong  into  the  dirt 


8o        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

and  soot,  until  they  were  covered  from  head 
to  foot.  But  Theodore  Roosevelt  was  bound 
to  get  the  elk,  and  kept  on  until  the  sweat  was 
pouring  down  on  his  face  and  neck.  Shot  after 
shot  was  fired,  and  all  three  of  the  animals 
were  wounded,  but  still  they  kept  on  bounding 
away. 

"  One  is  down ! "  shouted  Roosevelt  at  last. 
And  the  news  proved  true;  the  smallest  of  the 
bulls  had  rocked  unsteadily  for  a  few  seconds 
and  gone  to  earth.  Then  on  and  on  after  the 
remaining  game  sped  the  hunters,  panting  and 
sweating  as  before. 

"  The  sweat  streamed  down  in  my  eyes  and 
made  furrows  in  the  sooty  mud  that  covered  my 
face,  from  having  fallen  full  length  down  on 
the  burnt  earth,"  writes  the  dauntless  hunter, 
in  relating  this  story.  "  I  sobbed  for  breath 
as  I  toiled  at  a  shambling  trot  after  them,  as 
nearly  done  out  as  could  well  be." 

But  he  did  not  give  up  and  now  the  elk  took 
a  turn  and  went  downhill,  with  Theodore  Roose- 
velt pitching  after  them,  ready  to  drop  from 
exhaustion,  but  full  of  that  grit  to  win  out  which 
won  the  admiration  of  all  who  knew  the  man. 
The  second  bull  fell ;  and  now  but  one  remained, 
and  this  dashed  into  the  thicket.  On  its  heels 
went  the  daring  hunter,  running  the  chance  of 
having  the  elk  turn  on  him  as  soon  as  cornered, 
in  which  case,  had  Roosevelt's  rifle  been  empty, 
the  struggle  for  life  on  both  sides  would  have 
been  a  fierce  one. 

In  the  midst  of  the  thicket  the  hunter  had  to 
pause,  for  the  elk  was  now  out  of  sight,  and 


RANCHMAN  AND  HUNTER  81 

there  was  no  telling  what  new  course  had  been 
taken  by  the  game.  At  a  distance  he  saw  a 
yellow  body  under  the  evergreen  trees,  and,  taking 
hasty  aim,  fired.  When  he  came  up,  he  was 
somewhat  dismayed  to  learn  that  he  had  not 
brought  down  the  elk,  but  a  black-tail  deer  in- 
stead. In  the  meantime,  the  third  elk  got  away, 
and  it  proved  impossible  to  pick  up  the  trail 
again. 

Probably  the  most  exciting  adventure  of  all 
those  hunting  trips  in  the  western  wilderness, 
was  his  "  hack  at  the  bears  "  in  September  of 
1889,  and  there  is  hardly  any  doubt  that  Her- 
mann Hagedorn  has  written  the  best  story  of 
the  incident  in  his  "  Boy's  Life  of  Theodore 
Roosevelt," x  published  a  few  months  ago.  It 
is  reproduced  here  by  permission : 

His  companion  was  a  Grabbled,  rheumatic  old 
mountain  hunter  named  Hank  Griffin,  who  had 
an  extraordinary  gift  for  finding  game,  but  also 
a  surly  temper  and  profound  contempt  for 
"  tenderfeet,"  especially  "  tenderfeet  "  who  wore 
spectacles.  He  had  never  "  trundled  a  tender- 
foot before,  he  remarked,  and  gave  the  im- 
pression that  he  considered  Roosevelt  in  the 
light  of  one  who  had  blackened  his  otherwise 
spotless  record.  He  took  his  revenge  by  lying 
abed  late  and  letting  Roosevelt  do  all  the  work 
about  the  camp. 

Finally,  one  day,  he  refused  altogether  to  go 
out  on  the  day's  hunt.  He  had  a  pain,  he  said. 

Roosevelt  went  out  by  himself,  returning  at 

1  Copyright,  1918,  by  Harper  &  Brothers. 


82        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

dusk,  to  find  that  the  "  pain  "  had  during  his 
absence  flourished  on  a  flask  of  whiskey  which 
he  kept  in  his  kit  for  emergencies.  Hank  was 
sitting  very  erect  on  a  tree-stump,  with  his  rifle 
across  his  knees.  Roosevelt  nodded  in  greeting. 
The  guide  leered  at  him.  He  was  evidently  very 
drunk. 

Roosevelt  leaned  his  rifle  against  a  tree  near 
the  cooking-things  and  walked  over  to  where  his 
bedding  lay.  He  suspected  that  his  flask  had 
been  tapped.  He  rummaged  among  his  belong- 
ings. The  flask  was  there,  but  the  whiskey  was 
gone. 

He  turned  on  the  man  swiftly.  "  Hank, 
you've  emptied  my  flask !  "  he  cried. 

The  guide  chuckled  drunkenly.  "  Suppose  I 
have,"  he  said.  "  What  are  ye  going  to  do  about 
it?" 

"  I'll  tell  you  what  I  am  going  to  do  about  it," 
answered  Roosevelt,  hotly.  "  I  am  going  to  take 
one  of  the  horses  and  go  on  by  myself." 

Hank  stiffened  up  and  cocked  his  rifle.  "  You 
can  go  alone,"  he  muttered,  "  but  you  won't  take 
a  horse." 

Roosevelt  saw  that  the  man  was  in  a  danger- 
ous mood.  "  All  right !  "  he  said.  "  If  I  can't, 
I  can't,  I  suppose."  Then  he  began  to  move 
about,  in  search  of  some  flour  and  salt  pork. 
The  guide,  misled  by  his  apparent  acceptance 
of  the  situation,  stared  straight  ahead  drunkenly. 

Hank  Griffin's  cocked  rifle  lay  across  his  knees, 
the  muzzle  pointing  to  the  left ;  Roosevelt's  rifle 
stood  toward  the  right.  Roosevelt  worked  his 
way  unobtrusively  toward  it.  Then  suddenly  he 


RANCHMAN  AND  HUNTER  83 

whipped  it  up  and  threw  the  bead  on  the  old 
hunter. 

"  Hands  up !  " 

The  man  put  up  his  hands.  "  Oh,  come !  "  he 
said.  "  I  was  only  joking." 

"Well,  I'm  not!"  Roosevelt  replied, 
"  straighten  your  legs  and  let  your  rifle  go  to  the 
ground." 

"  It'll  go  off." 

"  Let  it  go  off !  " 

But  the  gun  did  not  go  off,  after  all,  for  the 
guide  straightened  his  legs  with  care  so  that  it 
slipped  to  the  ground  without  a  jar. 

"  Move  back !  " 

The  guide  obeyed  and  Roosevelt  picked  up  the 
rifle.  The  crabbed  old  man  was  quite  sober 
now,  and  quizzical  instead  of  angry. 

"  Give  me  back  my  rifle,"  he  remarked,  in  a 
conciliatory  voice,  "  an'  we'll  call  it  quits  an'  go 
on  together." 

"  I  guess  we  won't  do  that,"  said  Roosevelt. 
"  The  hunt's  about  through  anyway,  and  I  think 
I'll  go  home."  He  pointed  to  a  blasted  pine  on 
an  eminence  about  a  mile  from  camp.  "  Do  you 
see  that  pine?  If  I  see  you  in  camp  when  I  reach 
there,  I'll  leave  your  rifle  there  for  you.  If  you 
try  to  come  after  me,  I'll  take  it  for  granted  that 
you  mean  to  get  me  if  you  can,  and  I'll  shoot." 

"  I'm  not  coming  after  you,"  grumbled  the 
guide. 

Roosevelt  started  off,  taking  his  little  mare,  his 
bed-roll,  and  half  the  remaining  supply  of  flour, 
bacon,  and  tea.  At  the  blasted  pine  he  stopped 
and  looked  around.  Old  Hank  was  still  in  camp. 


84        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

Roosevelt  left  the  rifle  at  the  tree  and  pressed 
on.  At  dusk  he  stopped  and  cooked  his  sup- 
per. He  did  not  believe  that  the  old  hunter 
would  follow  him,  but  there  was  just  a  chance 
that  he  might.  So  he  made  use  of  a  familiar 
trick  of  the  trappers  in  the  old  Indian  days. 
Leaving  his  camp-fire  burning  brightly,  he  pushed 
ahead  until  darkness  made  further  progress  im- 
possible. Picketing  the  mare,  but  building  no 
fire,  he  lay  down  and  slept  until  the  first  streak 
of  dawn,  then  again  pushed  on  for  two  hours  or 
more  before  halting  to  cook  breakfast. 

There  was  no  trail,  but  he  kept  his  course  along 
the  foot-hills  where  glades  and  little  prairies 
broke  the  pine  forest;  and  it  was  not  until  the 
end  of  this,  the  second  day  of  his  solitary  jour- 
neying, that  he  had  difficulty  finding  his  way. 
That  afternoon,  however,  he  became  enmeshed 
in  a  tangle  of  winding  valleys  at  the  foot  of  the 
steep  mountains.  Dusk  was  coming  on.  For 
the  moment  he  was  "  lost."  He  decided  to 
camp  where  he  was.  He  threw  his  pack  and  his 
buffalo  sleeping-bag  on  the  soft  pine  needles  and 
strolled  off  through  the  frosty  gloaming  with  his 
rifle  on  his  shoulder,  to  see  if  he  could  pick  up 
a  grouse  for  his  supper. 

He  found  no  grouse.  Among  the  tall,  slender 
pines  the  daylight  was  rapidly  fading  and  he 
turned  toward  his  camp  again  at  last. 

Suddenly,  as  he  stole  noiselessly  up  to  the  crest 
of  a  ridge,  he  caught  the  loom  of  a  large,  dark 
object. 

It  was  a  great  grizzly,  walking  slowly  off  with 
his  head  down. 


RANCHMAN  AND  HUNTER  85 

Roosevelt  fired.  The  bear  uttered  a  loud, 
moaning  grunt  and  plunged  forward  at  a  heavy 
gallop.  Roosevelt  ran  to  cut  him  off.  The 
bear  entered  a  laurel  thicket,  and  for  a  time  re- 
mained hidden  in  the  jungle  of  twisted  stems  and 
foliage,  now  and  again  uttering  a  strange,  savage 
whine.  Roosevelt  began  to  skirt  the  edge,  peer- 
ing anxiously  through  the  dusk. 

The  bear  plunged  out  of  the  laurel  on  the  far- 
ther side,  wheeled,  and  stood  for  a  moment 
broadside  to  the  hunter.  Stiffly  he  turned  his 
head.  Scarlet  strings  of  froth  hung  from  his 
lips ;  his  eyes  burned  like  embers  in  the  gloom. 

Roosevelt  fired  again.  Instantly  the  great 
bear  turned  with  a  harsh  roar  of  fury  and  chal- 
lenge, blowing  the  bloody  foam  from  his  mouth. 
Roosevelt  saw  his  white  fangs  gleam  as  the 
grizzly  charged  straight  at  him,  crashing  and 
bounding  through  the  laurel-bushes.  He  did  not 
fire  at  once.  The  raging  animal  came  plunging 
on.  As  he  topped  a  fallen  tree,  Roosevelt  fired 
again.  The  ball  went  through  the  bear's  chest, 
but  the  grizzly  neither  swerved  nor  flinched,  but 
came  steadily  on.  Roosevelt  had  only  one  more 
shot  in  his  magazine,  and  in  a  second  the  bear 
would  be  upon  him. 

He  fired  for  the  beast's  forehead,  but  his  bul- 
let went  low,  smashing  the  bear's  lower  jaw  and 
entering  his  neck.  Roosevelt  leaped  aside  even 
as  he  pulled  the  trigger.  The  smoke  hung  for 
an  instant,  and  through  it  he  saw  a  great  paw 
striking  viciously  at  him.  He  flung  himself 
back,  hurriedly  jamming  a  couple  of  cartridges 
into  his  rifle.  The  rush  of  the  grizzly's  charge 


86        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

carried  him  past  his  pursuer.  As  he  struck  he 
lurched  forward,  recovering  himself,  and  made 
two  or  three  leaps  onward ;  then  suddenly  col- 
lapsed, rolling  over  and  over. 

Roosevelt's  "  hack  at  the  bears  "  had  been  suc- 
cessful. 

Even  the  inveterate  dweller  in  city  caves  must 
feel  the  thrill  of  this  characterization  of  hunting 
which  appears  in  the  preface  of  Mr.  Roosevelt's 
book  "The  Wilderness  Hunter."  It  has  been 
called  "  a  poetical  classic  of  the  joys  and  thrill  of 
the  chase  " : 

"  In  hunting,  the  finding  and  killing  of  the  game 
is,  after  all,  but  a  part  of  the  whole.  The  free, 
self-reliant,  adventurous  life  with  its  rugged  and 
stalwart  democracy ;  the  wild  surroundings,  the 
grand  beauty  pf  the  scenery,  the  chance  to  study 
the  ways  and  the  habits  of  the  woodland  crea- 
tures —  all  these  unite  to  give  the  career  of  the 
wilderness  hunter  its  peculiar  charm. 

"  The  chase  is  among  the  best  of  all  national 
pastimes ;  it  cultivates  that  vigorous  manliness  for 
the  lack  of  which  in  a  nation,  as  in  an  individual, 
the  possession  of  no  other  qualities  can  possibly 
atone.  No  one  but  he  who  has  partaken  thereof 
can  understand  the  keen  delight  of  hunting  in 
lonely  lands. 

"  For  him  is  the  joy  of  the  horse  well  ridden 
and  the  rifle  well  held;  for  him  the  long  days 
of  toil  and  'hardship,  resolutely  endured  and 
crowned  at  the  end  with  triumph. 

"  In  after  years  there  shall  come  forever  to 
his  mind  the  memory  of  endless  prairies  shim- 
mering in  the  bright  sun;  of  vast  snow-clad 


ROUGH  RIDERS  AND  SPANIARDS          87 

wastes  lying  desolate  under  gray  skies;  of  the 
melancholy  marshes,  of  the  rush  of  mighty  rivers, 
of  the  breath  of  the  evergreen  forest  in  summer, 
of  the  crooning  of  ice-armored  pines  at  the  touch 
of  the  winds  of  winter,  of  cataracts  roaring  be- 
neath hoary  mountain  masses,  of  all  the  innumer- 
able sights  and  sounds  of  the  wilderness,  of  its 
immensity  and  mystery  and  of  the  silences  that 
brood  in  its  still  depths." 


CHAPTER  V 

ROUGH    RIDERS   AND   SPANIARDS 

IN  1897,  Roosevelt  was  called  back  to  Wash- 
ington by  President  McKinley  to  fill  the  office  of 
Assistant  Secretary  of  the  Navy  under  John  D. 
Long,  who  had  accepted  the  Navy  portfolio  with 
the  understanding  that  he  should  have  as  Assist- 
ant Secretary  a  strong  and  active  man.  In  this 
respect  Mr.  Roosevelt  did  not  disappoint  him. 

All  the  world  knows  his  splendid  efficiency  in 
putting  through  the  program  for  naval  prepared- 
ness. Day  and  night  he  was  to  be  found  at  his 
desk  in  the  Navy  Department,  cutting  red  tape 
with  a  relentless  hand  and  inspiring  the  bureau 
chiefs  and  the  officers  of  the  navy  to  renewed 
effort  and  accomplishment.  His  tireless  energy 
and  quick  mastery  of  detail  contributed  much 
to  the  successful  administration  of  the  depart- 
ment and  the  preparation  of  the  navy  for  the 
most  brilliant  feats  in  naval  warfare  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  world.  He  pushed  with  his  utmost 


88        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

vigor  the  repair  and  general  overhauling  of  what 
ships  we  then  owned.  He  began  to  assemble  am- 
munition and  supplies  of  all  kinds.  He  framed 
an  important  personnel  bill.  He  started  the  navy 
on  a  course  of  real  gunnery,  so  as  to  improve 
marksmanship.  He  distributed  ships  and  supplies 
where  they  would  be  of  most  help  and  use  if  a 
storm  burst,  particularly  remembering  to  place 
ships  in  Pacific  waters,  where  they  might  loaf 
expectantly  in  the  general  neighborhood  of  the 
Philippines. 

From  the  very  first  he  foresaw  the  probability 
of  a  conflict  with  Spain  and  was  determined  to 
be  ready  for  it  whenever  it  should  come.  He 
worked  earnestly  for  the  navy  personnel  bill  and 
visited  the  various  naval  reserves  throughout  the 
country.  He  left  nothing  undone  that  would  in 
his  opinion  secure  the  highest  efficiency  in  the 
service  when  the  time  for  action  came.  He  is 
said  to  have  been  the  first  to  realize  the  tre- 
mendous opportunity  that  the  war  would  open  in 
the  Far  East,  and  he  it  was  who  had  Dewey,  in 
whom  he  recognized  the  right  man  for  the  place, 
appointed  to  command  the  eastern  squadron. 

Scarcely  had  he  got  his  feet  under  a  Navy  De- 
partment desk  when  he  asked  for  $800,000  for 
powder  and  shell  for  the  navy.  It  was  granted. 
He  knew  that  the  guns  of  the  navy  would  be 
useless  unless  the  gunners  could  shoot  straight. 
There  had  been  little  target  practice  in  past 
years,  for  target  practice  with  big  guns  is  ex- 
pensive. Now  he  saw  to  it  that  the  gunners 
learned  how  to  fire  real  ammunition  at  real 
targets,  and  hit  the  mark.  A  few  months  later 


ROUGH  RIDERS  AND  SPANIARDS         89 

he  wanted  $500,000  more.  The  representatives 
of  the  people  asked  him,  aghast,  what  had  be- 
come of  the  ammunition  purchased  with  the 
$800,000  handed  to  his  department. 

"  Great  heavens !  "  he  cried,  equally  aghast  at 
the  question.  "  What  d'  you  suppose  we  did  with 
it?  We  fired  it.  And  this  new  half  million 
dollars'  worth  of  ammunition  will  all  be  ex- 
ploded thirty  days  after  we  get  it.  What  else 
do  you  want  to  know,  gentlemen  ?  " 

Many  naval  experts  agree  that  the  remarkable 
skill  in  marksmanship  displayed  by  the  American 
gunners  was  due  to  Roosevelt's  foresight  and  in- 
sistence. 

The  deliberation  with  which  many  of  the  of- 
ficials in  Washington  went  about  their  business 
tried  his  patience,  says  George  William  Doug- 
las. Mr.  Roosevelt  held  a  subordinate  position 
and.  of  course,  had  to  wait  on  the  pleasure  of  his 
superiors,  even  when  they  were  not  delayed  by 
the  inaction  of  Congress.  On  one  occasion  he 
had  urged  a  committee  of  Congressmen  to  ap- 
prove certain  things  which  he  thought  should 
be  done  at  once.  The  members  of  the  committee 
talked  and  talked  without  reaching  any  conclu- 
sion. An  hour  passed  and  they  were  still  talk- 
ing, when  Mr.  Roosevelt  sprang  to  his  feet  with 
considerable  show  of  impatience,  and  said : 

"  Gentlemen,  if  God  had  referred  the  ark  to  a 
committee  on  naval  affairs  like  this,  it's  my  opin- 
ion that  it  wouldn't  have  been  built  yet." 

In  the  records  of  the  Navy  Department,  Roose- 
velt left  many  memorials  to  his  keen  interest  in 
the  service,  but  none  more  striking  than  an  order 


90        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

cabled  to  Admiral  Dewey  on  February  25,  1898, 
nearly  two  months  before  war  was  declared 
on  Spain,  in  which  the  first  step  toward  Ameri- 
can occupation  of  the  Philippine  Islands  was 
taken. 

Roosevelt,  then  Assistant  Secretary  of  the 
Navy,  issued  the  order  without  the  knowledge  or 
approval  of  Secretary  Long,  and  in  his  autobiog- 
raphy he  described  this  as  one  of  the  times  when 
he  seized  opportunities  presented  by  the  absence 
of  the  Secretary  to  take  steps  toward  preparation 
for  war,  which  he  regarded  as  vital. 

Roosevelt  had  repeatedly  urged  that  prompt 
action  be  taken  to  make  ready  for  war.  He  be- 
lieved Admiral,  then  Commodore  Dewey,  com- 
manding the  Asiatic  fleet,  should  be  given  ad- 
vance instructions,  for  even  before  the  Maine 
was  sunk  he  had  felt  certain  that  war  with  Spain 
was  inevitable.  No  instructions  were  sent  to 
Dewey,  however,  and  when  Mr.  Long  departed 
from  Washington  on  February  25,  leaving  Roose- 
velt as  Acting  Secretary,  this  order,  over  Roose- 
velt's name,  went  over  the  cables : 

"  Dewey,  Hong  Kong : 

"  Secret  and  confidential.  Order  the  squadron,  except 
Monacacy,  to  Hong  Kong.  Keep  full  of  coal.  In  event 
of  declaration  of  war  with  Spain  your  duty  will  be  to 
see  that  Spanish  squadron  does  not  leave  Atlantic  coast, 
and  then  offensive  operations  in  Philippine  Islands. 
Keep  Olympia  (Dewey's  flagship  at  Manila  Bay,  pre- 
viously order  home)  until  further  orders. 

"  ROOSEVELT." 

Before  war  was  declared  it  was  reported  that 
the  Spanish  fleet  was  about  to  sail  for  Cuba,  and 


ROUGH  RIDERS  AND  SPANIARDS         91 

Mr.  Roosevelt  urged  that  in  view  of  all  the  cir- 
cumstances, word  be  sent  to  Spain  that  the  des- 
patch of  the  fleet  would  be  regarded  as  an  act 
of  war.  He  had  explained  his  views  to  President 
McKinley,  and  the  President  sent  for  him  one 
day  to  tell  the  same  things  to  the  Cabinet. 
What  happened  was  told  in  1901,  after  Mr. 
Roosevelt  had  become  President.  As  he  en- 
tered the  room  where  the  Cabinet  was  gath- 
ered, President  McKinley  asked  him 

"  What  would  you  advise  as  to  the  action  of 
the  United  States  in  connection  with  Cervera's 
fleet?" 

After  pressing  his  lips  firmly  together  for  a 
moment,  Mr.  Roosevelt  spoke : 

"  With  all  due  deference  to  you,  Mr.  President, 
since  you  ask  me  for  my  honest  opinion,  I  will 
say  that  my  advice  is  to  meet  Cervera  at  the 
Canaries  and  sink  every  ship  in  the  fleet." 

"  But  that  would  be  an  act  of  war,"  the  Presi- 
dent replied. 

"  Certainly  it  would,"  admitted  Mr.  Roosevelt, 
"  but  I  have  noticed  in  my  study  of  history  that 
it  is  the  nation  that  gets  in  the  first  blow  which 
usually  wins,  and  I  believe  in  getting  in  the  first 
blow." 

This  advice  was  not  taken,  for  reasons  that 
seemed  to  the  responsible  officers  to  be  good  and 
sufficient.  The  Spanish  fleet,  with  its  torpedo 
boats,  sailed  under  command  of  Admiral  Cer- 
vera. Many  of  the  older  naval  officers  advo- 
cated a  policy  of  caution.  They  advised  that 
the  men  in  command  of  our  ships  should  exercise 
great  care  and  on  no  account  get  near  enough 


92        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

to  the  torpedo  boats  to  risk  the  loss  of  their  own 
ships.  There  was  great  dread  of  the  destructive 
power  of  the  torpedoes  in  those  days.  Mr. 
Mr.  Roosevelt  was  discussing  this  situation  one 
day  with  a  friend.  He  got  so  indignant  at  what 
he  regarded  as  the  stupidity  of  the  policy  of 
dodging  the  enemy,  that  he  jumped  from  his 
chair  and  paced  up  and  down  the  room,  shooting 
words  from  his  mouth  like  bullets  from  a  rapid- 
fire  gun. 

"  Confound  it  all,"  he  exclaimed,  "  of  course 
we  must  take  risks.  But  what  is  the  good  of  a 
naval  officer  who  would  not  run  some  risk  when 
the  necessity  arose?  Suppose  a  torpedo  boat 
does  destroy  one  of  our  ships,  you  may  be  sure 
there  will  be  no  more  Spanish  torpedo  boats  after 
that  engagement  is  over.  It  is  nonsense  to  talk 
about  keeping  our  ships  in  port  while  the  Spanish 
torpedo  boats  are  on  the  sea.  We  must  go  out 
and  find  them  and  destroy  them.  And  that 
would  not  be  difficult,  because  I  don't  believe 
they  are  half  so  dangerous  as  they  are  repre- 
sented to  be." 

There  was  a  lighter  side  to  all  this  hard  and 
earnest  work  in  preparation  for  possible  war. 
Mr.  Roosevelt's  good  digestion  and  high  spirits 
still  made  it  possible  for  him  to  enjoy  life  and 
to  take  many  things  less  seriously.  He  liked 
to  play  pranks  upon  his  associates.  On  one  oc- 
casion he  accompanied  a  squadron  that  went  out 
for  two  days'  target  practice,  to  shoot  away  some 
of  the  powder  that  he  had  persuaded  Congress  to 
permit  the  Navy  Department  to  buy.  When 
the  squadron  was  about  to  return,  the  officers 


ROUGH  RIDERS  AND  SPANIARDS         93 

were  invited  on  board  the  flag-ship  as  the  guests 
of  Mr.  Roosevelt.  They  talked  for  some  time, 
as  the  story  is  told,  and  as  no  creature  comforts 
appeared  they  began  to  look  inquiringly  at  one 
another.  Mr.  Roosevelt  understood  the  glances, 
and,  without  the  flicker  of  a  smile,  he  said: 

"  Will  you  step  into  the  cabin,  gentlemen,  and 
have  some  tea?" 

The  officers  knew  that  strong  waters  were  for- 
bidden on  board  ship,  but  they  also  knew  that  an 
appetizer  by  any  other  name  would  sit  as  well 
on  the  stomach.  So  the  movement  toward  the 
cabin  was  prompt  and  unanimous.  There,  in  the 
center  of  a  great  table,  rested  a  punch-bowl  of 
magnificent  proportions,  filled  nearly  to  the  brim 
with  liquid  a  shade  darker  than  amber.  In  its 
center  floated  an  island  of  ice.  Sprays  of  mint 
extended  their  slender  leaves  over  its  brim,  and 
pieces  of  lemon  and  other  fruits  floated  on  the 
surface  of  the  cool  and  tempting  liquid. 

The  old  commodore,  with  the  color  of  the  sun 
on  his  face  and  the  dryness  of  the  desert  in  his 
throat,  turned  eagerly  toward  this  oasis.  He 
stirred  the  ladle  lovingly  in  the  bowl  while  the 
others  gathered  about  him.  He  held  his  glass, 
filled  to  the  brim,  between  his  eye  and  the  sun- 
light that  came  in  through  the  cabin  window,  and 
the  clatter  and  clink  of  glasses  sounded  cheer- 
fully as  each  officer  filled  to  the  occasion.  With 
an  air  of  contentment  and  anticipatory  joy  the 
commodore  brought  the  glass  to  his  lips.  Then 
as  all  lifted  their  glasses  to  follow  his  example,  a 
look  of  astonishment  passed  over  his  face,  giv- 
ing way  to  one  of  pain. 


94        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

"  I'll  be  blowecl  if  it  ain't  tea !  "  he  gasped. 

And  the  regulations  were  still  intact. 

These  officers  and  Mr.  Roosevelt  and  every 
other  close  observer  of  the  signs  of  the  times 
knew  when  the  Maine  was  blown  up  in  Havana 
harbor  that  war  could  not  be  delayed  much 
longer.  And  Mr.  Roosevelt  began  to  lay  his 
plans  to  get  into  it.  He  might  have  gone  as  a 
staff  officer,  but  he  did  not  care  for  that  kind  of 
duty.  He  sought  to  go  as  a  field  officer  under 
General  Francis  V.  Greene,  but  there  were  no 
vacancies.  It  was  not  until  Congress  author- 
ized the  organization  of  three  cavalry  regiments 
from  among  the  frontiersmen  and  cowboys  of  the 
West  that  he  found  a  way  to  go. 

Secretary  Alger,  of  the  War  Department,  of- 
fered to  make  him  a  colonel  of  one  of  them,  but 
he  did  not  think  he  had  sufficient  experience  in 
equipping  a  regiment  for  the  field  to  take  com- 
mand at  once.  He  therefore  asked  the  Secretary 
of  War  to  appoint  him  lieutenant-colonel  and 
make  Leonard  Wood  the  colonel.  Wood  was  a 
surgeon  in  the  regular  army  and  had  been  the 
physician  in  attendance  on  President  McKinley. 
Although  war  was  not  his  business,  he  had  led  a 
body  of  troops  against  the  Apache  Indians  in  an 
emergency  and  won  a  medal  of  honor.  In  the 
course  of  his  service  he  had  picked  up  a  sound 
general  knowledge  of  army  methods. 

Roosevelt  and  Wood  had  never  met  until  the 
former  came  to  Washington  as  assistant  secre- 
tary. They  had  been  immediately  attracted  to 
each  other,  and  soon  became  fast  friends.  The 
surgeon  had  been  fired  with  an  ambition  to  lead 


ROUGH  RIDERS  AND  SPANIARDS         95 

a  relief  expedition  to  the  Alaskan  mining  region 
on  the  Klondike  the  winter  before,  and  had  urged 
Roosevelt  to  join  him.  They  were  now  equally 
eager  to  serve  in  the  war,  and  Wood  had  tried 
in  vain  for  an  appointment  from  his  own  state, 
Massachusetts.  He  welcomed  the  chance  to 
join  his  friend  in  raising  the  Western  regiment, 
and,  with  high  ardor,  they  entered  upon  their 
duties. 

After  Roosevelt  had  decided  to  resign  there 
were  still  some  matters  to  be  arranged  in  the 
Navy  Department  before  it  was  announced  that 
he  was  to  go.  But  the  newspaper  men  heard  a 
rumor  of  his  intentions,  and  one  of  them  went, 
after  midnight,  to  verify  the  report  at  the  home 
of  his  brother-in-law,  Commander  Cowles,  where 
he  was  staying.  The  man  knew  Mr.  Roosevelt 
personally,  and  thought  that  on  the  strength  of 
the  acquaintance  he  might  be  able  to  get  some 
information.  He  discovered  that  however  im- 
pulsive the  Assistant  Secretary  of  the  Navy  might 
seem,  there  were  some  things  he  could  not  be 
surprised  into  saying.  The  newspaper  man  said 
afterward : 

"  I  stepped  briskly  up  the  steps  and  rang  the 
bell.  The  house  was  very  dark,  every  blind 
drawn  and  not  a  ray  anywhere.  Again  I  rang, 
but  no  sound.  Determined  not  to  be  bluffed,  I 
rang  the  bell  once  more  and  soon  heard  footsteps 
above.  The  window-sash  went  up  and  Mr. 
Roosevelt  leaned  out  and  wanted  to  know  what  I 
wanted. 

" '  Good  evening,  Mr.  Roosevelt,'  said  I,  '  this 
is .  Is  it  true — ' 


96        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

"  '  Why,  Mr.  — • — ,'  he  interrupted,  '  I  am  sur- 
prised.' 

"  '  So  am  I,  Mr.  Roosevelt,  but  it  is  an  impor- 
tant matter  and  I'll  explain  later.  I  would  like 
to  know  if  — ' 

"  '  Why,  Mr. ,  I  am  surprised.' 

"  '  I  appreciate  that  fact,'  I  persisted,  '  but  it  is 
exceedingly  important  to  know  the  exact  facts. 
Is  it  true  that  — ' 

"'Why,  Mr.  ?'  broke  in  the  cold,  calm 

voice,  '  I  am  very  much  surprised,'  and  down 
went  the  sash  and  back  to  bed  went  Mr.  Roose- 
velt. It  was  a  cold  dash  and  it  took  me  some 
time  to  recover  from  the  shock ;  but  Mr.  Roose- 
velt explained  later  that  he  had  had  a  particular 
anxiety  not  to  have  the  story  appear  that  day." 

But  his  purpose  soon  became  generally  known, 
and  then  there  was  raised  probably  the  most  re- 
markable regiment  that  was  ever  enlisted  for  any 
war. 

The  plan  of  a  Western  regiment  had  set  the 
plainsmen  and  the  mountaineers  aflame  with  ex- 
citement, says  James  Morgan,  in  his  description 
of  this  unique  military  organization.  Many  tele- 
graphed offers  of  their  services,  singly  and  in 
hastily  formed  bands.  People  began  to  speak  of 
the  picturesque  organization  as  "  The  Rough 
Riders,"  a  term  borrowed  from  the  circus.  The 
idea  seized  upon  the  imagination  of  adventurous 
Eastern  youth.  From  the  South,  and  indeed 
from  all  directions,  applications  flowed  in  a 
torrent. 

No  one  caught  the  contagion  of  the  Roosevelt 
spirit  more  quickly  than  the  college  athletes  of 


ROUGH  RIDERS  AND  SPANIARDS         97 

the  East.  Young  men  of  education  and  fortune 
pressed  more  earnestly  for  a  chance  to  serve 
in  the  ranks  under  Roosevelt,  than  to  gain  com- 
missions from  the  President  as  officers  of  other 
commands.  While  he  had  to  decline  applica- 
tions by  the  thousands,  Mr.  Roosevelt  deter- 
mined to  accept  a  sufficient  number  of  picked 
men,  of  athletic  tastes,  from  the  other  states  to 
form  a  troop. 

A  most  remarkable  lot  of  private  soldiers  they 
proved  to  be,  when  they  came  to  Washington  to 
be  mustered  in.  There  were  among  them  gradu- 
ates of  all  the  famous  colleges,  members  of  the 
most  fashionable  clubs  of  New  York  and  Boston, 
and  troopers  from  the  fancy  mounted  militia  of 
the  big  cities.  There  were  the  celebrated  tennis 
champion  and  the  next  best  player;  a  captain  of 
a  Harvard  crew  and  one  of  his  men;  two  foot- 
ball players  from  Princeton;  two  noted  track 
athletes  from  Yale,  two  polo  players  from  Mr. 
Roosevelt's  old  team  at  Oyster  Bay ;  a  celebrated 
steeplechase  rider  from  New  York;  a  captain 
of  a  Columbia  crew,  and  there  were  New  York 
policemen,  anxious  to  serve  again  under  their  old 
commissioner. 

As  this  unusual  troop  was  about  to  be  must- 
ered in,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Roosevelt  addressed 
a  few  remarks  to  them  in  this  vein :  "  Gentle- 
men: You  have  now  reached  the  last  point.  If 
any  one  of  you  doesn't  mean  business,  let  him 
say  so  now.  An  hour  from  now  it  will  be  too 
late  to  back  out.  Once  you  are  in,  you've  got  to 
see  it  through.  You've  got  to  perform,  without 
flinching,  whatever  duty  is  assigned  to  you,  re- 


98        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

gardless  of  the  difficulty  or  the  danger  attend- 
ing to  it.  You  must  know  how  to  ride,  you  must 
know  how  to  shoot,  you  must  know  how  to  live 
in  the  open.  Absolute  obedience  to  every  com- 
mand is  your  first  lesson.  No  matter  what  comes 
you  mustn't  squeal.  Think  it  over,  all  of  you. 
If  any  man  wants  to  withdraw,  he  will  be  gladly 
excused,  for  there  are  thousands  who  are  anx- 
ious to  have  places  in  this  regiment."  It  is 
needless  to  say  that  no  one  backed  out.  The 
lientenant-colonel  added,  "  There  are  not  enough 
tactics  for  all,  but  I  will  give  you  these  to  study 
in  the  cars."  With  this  he  shot  the  little  books  at 
their  heads  as  if  they  were  bullets  aimed  at  the 
enemy. 

The  War  Department,  says  George  William 
Douglas,  was  ill  prepared  for  the  war,  and  the 
regiments,  which  were  anxious  to  get  their  equip- 
ment without  delay,  had  to  look  out  for  them- 
selves or  be  neglected.  Through  the  zeal  of  its 
two  commanding  officers,  the  Rough  Riders  got 
Krag-Jorgensen  rifles,  so  that  they  might  be  as- 
signed to  duty  with  the  regular  army.  Through 
their  energy  they  were  in  condition  to  be  sent  to 
the  front  before  either  of  the  other  volunteer 
cavalry  regiments.  But  it  was  only  after  the 
most  strenuous  exertions  that  they  succeeded 
in  getting  ordered  to  the  rendezvous  in  Florida. 
Mr.  Roosevelt  sent  telegrams  day  after  day,  be- 
seeching all  the  men  in  authority  that  he  could 
think  of,  to  get  his  men  into  service  as  soon  as 
possible.  Finally,  after  much  exertion,  the  com- 
mand to  go  to  Florida  was  extracted  from  the 
War  Department.  So  eager  were  they  to  get  off 


ROUGH  RIDERS  AND  SPANIARDS          99 

that  when  they  got  to  Tampa  and  received  the 
command  to  embark  on  a  transport  at  Port 
Tampa,  nine  miles  away,  Mr.  Roosevelt  seized  a 
train  of  empty  coal  cars,  loaded  his  men  into 
them  and  forced  the  engineer  to  run  them  down 
to  the  pier  at  which  the  transport  was  to  be 
moored.  In  the  meantime,  Colonel  Wood  was 
getting  the  transport  up  to  the  pier.  Mr.  Roose- 
velt learned  accidentally  that  two  other  regi- 
ments were  ordered  to  go  on  the  same  boat,  one 
of  which  contained  more  men  than  the  transport 
could  carry.  He  ran  at  full  speed  back  to  his 
train,  left  a  strong  guard  to  take  care  of  the 
baggage,  and  marched  the  rest  of  the  regiment 
at  double-quick  to  the  point  where  the  transport 
landed,  getting  there  just  in  time  to  scramble 
aboard  before  the  other  regiments  arrived.  He 
had  set  out  for  the  front  to  see  fighting,  and  he 
was  not  going  to  be  left  behind  if  alertness  could 
accomplish  anything. 

Instead  of  waiting  for  specific  orders  to  dis- 
embark after  the  transport  arrived  off  Santiago, 
the  pilot  of  one  of  the  naval  vessels  there  was  se- 
cured to  take  the  troop  ship  to  within  a  hundred 
yards  of  land;  the  men  were  carried  off  in 
boats,  and  the  officers'  horses  were  thrown  over- 
board to  swim  ashore.  They  had  not  been  on 
land  many  hours  before  the  march  to  the  front 
began.  It  has  been  said  that  the  regiment  passed 
the  extreme  outpost  without  orders,  and  conse- 
quently got  into  the  fight  at  Las  Guasimas  the 
next  morning  when  no  fight  was  planned.  When 
General  Shafter  heard  the  news  of  the  engage- 
ment, it  was  in  the  form  of  a  report  that  the 


ioo        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

regiment  had  been  cut  to  pieces.  But  a  few 
hours  later  he  received  a  correct  report  of  the 
engagement  and  sent  a  note  to  Lieutenant-Col- 
onel Roosevelt  congratulating  him  on  the  bril- 
liant success  of  the  attack. 

It  was  at  the  battle  of  Las  Guasimas,  on  June 
24,  that  Roosevelt  saw  his  first  real  fighting.  His 
undaunted  spirit  and  the  wholehearted  interest  in 
the  welfare  of  the  men  there  endeared  him  still 
further  to  the  members  of  his  command. 

But  it  was  at  the  Battle  of  San  Juan  Hill,  on 
July  i,  where  Roosevelt  was  ranking  officer,  that 
he  attained  his  real  claim  to  fame  as  a  soldier. 
His  horse  shot  from  under  him,  he  ran  ahead  of 
his  men,  waving  his  sword  and  shouting  encour- 
agement to  them,  until  the  Spaniards  had  been 
driven  from  their  trenches. 

Those  were  the  days  before  battles  were  won 
by  a  predominance  of  military  material  rather 
than  by  personal  bravery,  and  Roosevelt  threw 
himself  into  the  fight  in  a  manner  that  silenced  all 
those  who  had  credited  him  with  personal  mo- 
tives for  enlistment. 

During  the  charge  many  of  the  Rough  Riders 
were  killed.  A  veritable  storm  of  Mauser  bullets 
plowed  through  their  ranks  and  threatened  to 
sweep  all  before  them.  But  the  fields  before 
Santiago  were  cleared  and  the  final  surrender 
of  that  stronghold  was  a  direct  result  of  the 
taking  of  San  Juan  Hill. 

Here  is  one  of  the  descriptions  of  the  charge, 
as  sent  in  a  dispatch  from  the  field  of  battle: 

"  Roosevelt  was  in  the  lead,  waving  his  sword. 
Out  into  the  open  and  up  the  hill  where  death 


ROUGH  RIDERS  AND  SPANIARDS        101 

seemed  certain,  in  the  face  of  the  continuous 
crackle  of  the  Mausers,  came  the  Rough  Riders, 
with  the  loth  Cavalry  alongside.  Not  a  man 
flinched,  all  continuing  to  fire  as  they  ran. 
Roosevelt  was  a  hundred  feet  ahead  of  his 
troops,  yelling  like  a  Sioux,  while  his  own  men 
and  the  colored  cavalry  cheered  him  as  they 
charged  up  the  hill.  There  was  no  stopping  as 
men's  neighbors  fell,  but  on  they  went,  faster  and 
faster.  Suddenly  Roosevelt's  horse  stopped, 
pawed  the  air  for  a  moment  and  fell  in  a  heap. 
Before  the  horse  was  down  Roosevelt  disen- 
gaged himself  from  the  saddle,  and,  landing  on 
his  feet,  again  yelled  to  his  men,  and  sword  in 
hand,  charged  on  afoot." 

Colonel  Wood  was  promoted  to  a  vacant  briga- 
dier-generalship on  July  9,  1898,  because  he  was 
the  senior  colonel  on  the  field,  and  the  lieutenant- 
colonel  became  colonel,  and  commanded  the  regi- 
ment from  a  short  time  after  the  battle  of  San 
Juan  Hill  till  it  was  mustered  out  at  Montauk 
Point. 

When  the  Rough  Riders  were  mustered  out  in 
1908,  Colonel  Roosevelt  gave  them  some  famous 
words  of  advice,  similar  to  those  he  frequently 
gave  in  later  months  to  the  entire  country.  It 
was  a  direct,  personal  and  forcefully  typical 
speech,  credited  with  much  potency  in  the  lives 
of  some  of  the  men  to  whom  it  was  made.  In 
substance  it  was  as  follows : 

"  Get  action ;  do  things ;  be  sane ;  don't  fritter 
away  your  time ;  create ;  act ;  take  a  place  wher- 
ever you  are  and  be  somebody ;  get  action  —  and 
don't  get  gay." 


JC2        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

The  Rough  Riders  did  themselves  credit  in 
Cuba,  but,  aside  from  San  Juan  Hill,  their  part 
in  the  campaign  which  ended  with  the  fall  of 
Santiago  was  small,  as  the  part  of  any  single 
regiment  was  bound  to  be.  The  interest  which 
the  regiment  aroused  throughout  the  country 
was  due  more  to  its  romantic  composition  and 
history  than  to  its  brilliant  achievements,  though 
its  record  is  an  honorable  one.  Mr.  Roosevelt 
placed  it  properly  in  history  when  he  dedicated 
his  entertaining  tale  of  its  career  in  these  words : 

"  On  behalf  of  the  Rough  Riders  I  dedicate 
this  book  to  the  officers  and  men  of  the  five 
regular  regiments  which,  together  with  mine, 
made  up  the  cavalry  division  at  Santiago." 


CHAPTER  VI 
"SHELVING"  A  FIGHTING  GOVERNOR 

EVEN  before  Colonel  Roosevelt  returned  from 
Cuba  at  the  end  of  the  war  with  Spain  he  had 
become  the  popular  hero  of  the  event.  Poli- 
ticians set  about  planning  to  profit  by  his  popu- 
larity, both  the  politicians  in  his  regular  party 
organization  and  the  independents  as  well.  The 
latter  sought  to  persuade  him  to  accept  a  nomina- 
tion for  the  governorship  of  New  York  from 
them  before  the  regular  organization  had  a 
chance  to  nominate  him.  They  did  not  know  the 
man.  He  had  not  been  in  the  habit  of  doing 
things  that  way.  He  did  not  propose  to  be  the 
candidate  of  merely  a  few  people  who  were  un- 


"SHELVING"  A  GOVERNOR  103 

able  to  work  in  harmony  with  a  majority  of 
their  party.  Such  a  candidacy  might  be  amus- 
ing, but  it  would  lead  nowhere.  George  William 
Douglas  tells  of  this  interesting  period,  how, 
with  consummate  skill,  Roosevelt  prevented  the 
independents  from  complicating  the  situation,  and 
then  accepted  the  regular  Republican  nomina- 
tion when  it  came  to  him.  And  he  was  elected 
when  it  was  believed  that  no  other  candidiate 
could  have  saved  his  party  from  defeat. 

He  not  only  prevented  the  reformers,  as  they 
pleased  to  call  themselves,  from  defeating  their 
own  purpose  in  the  campaign  for  his  election,  but 
when  he  took  his  seat  in  the  State  Capitol  in  Al- 
bany, he  prevented  the  regular  politicians  from 
using  their  accustomed  tactics.  The  head  of  one 
of  the  State  departments  seemed  to  think  that 
the  department  was  maintained  to  further  his 
own  political  ambitions,  and  he  used  it  for  those 
ends.  Mr.  Roosevelt  did  not  think  government 
was  carried  on  for  such  purposes  and  he  sent  for 
the  man.  When  the  official  reached  the  executive 
chamber,  they  say  the  governor  read  him  a  lec- 
ture about  the  duty  of  public  officials  which  he 
will  long  remember,  and  ended  it  by  shaking  his 
finger  in  the  man's  face  and  snapping  out  at 
him : 

"  Now,  if  you  don't  stop  playing  politics  in 
your  office  I  will  pretty  soon  know  the  reason 
why." 

The  man  was  surprised,  to  say  the  least ;  but  he 
paid  more  attention  to  his  public  duties  there- 
after. 
The  political  effect  of  Mr.  Roosevelt's  actions, 


104        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

if  he  believed  that  he  was  acting  for  the  general 
good,  did  not  seem  to  trouble  him  much.  He 
seconded  the  efforts  of  the  Democratic  Con- 
troller of  New  York  City  to  secure  the  passage 
of  bills  to  prevent  the  waste  of  the  city's  funds. 
The  Corporation  Counsel  had  been  in  the  habit 
of  confessing  judgment  in  suits  against  the  city 
when  he  thought  best,  without  consulting  the 
financial  officers  or  any  one  else.  It  was  as  if 
a  lawyer  should  confess  judgment  without  first 
consulting  his  client. 

Mr.  Roosevelt  thought  that  this  was  not  right. 
He  also  thought  that  there  should  be  some  of- 
ficial who  should  audit  bills  for  supplies  pur- 
chased for  the  various  city  departments.  Mr. 
Bird  S.  Coler,  the  Controller,  as  the  financial 
head  of  the  city,  sought  to  have  the  law  so 
changed  that  his  office  might  audit  the  supply 
bills,  and  so  that  the  law  officer  of  the  city 
should  be  compelled  to  consult  him  before  ad- 
mitting in  court  that  the  city  had  no  defense 
against  any  suit  brought  to  collect  damages 
for  injuries  sustained  or  pay  for  goods  fur- 
nished. 

When  one  of  the  Republican  leaders  heard 
that  the  Governor  was  working  with  the  Con- 
troller to  secure  the  passage  of  the  necessary  bills, 
he  protested,  saying: 

"  Governor,  you  are  building  up  a  powerful 
rival  to  you  next  fall,"  referring  to  Mr.  Coler's 
desire  for  the  Democratic  nomination  for  the 
governorship.  Mr.  Coler  was  not  nominated  till 
two  years  later,  as  it  turned  out. 

"  Maybe  so,"  replied  Mr.  Roosevelt,  "  but  he 


"SHELVING"  A  GOVERNOR  105 

is  right  and  he  is  going  to  have  those  bills  if  I  can 
get  them  through  the  Legislature  for  him." 

On  another  occasion  other  party  leaders  pro- 
tested against  his  advocacy  of  the  measure  pro- 
viding for  the  appointment  of  a  commission  of 
expert  engineers  to  consider  the  best  method  of 
enlarging  the  Erie  Canal. 

"  It  is  suicide  to  do  it,"  they  urged,  "  for  it 
will  lose  votes  for  you  among  the  farmers  and  in 
the  districts  that  elected  you.  It  is  bad  politics." 

Mr.  Roosevelt  appreciated  the  force  of  the 
argument,  but  he  did  not  yield.  He  simply  shook 
his  head  and  said : 

"  You  are  right,  but  this  is  a  case  where  the 
few  must  give  way  for  the  benefit  of  the  many. 
I  realize  that  it  seems  unjust  to  the  farmers  to 
be  taxed  for  improvements  that  will  help  bring 
produce  from  the  West  to  compete  with  them, 
but  the  whole  State  must  be  considered,  and  that 
canal  proposition  is  in  line  with  commercial 
progress.  It  must  go  through." 

When  the  Legislature  hesitated  in  its  support 
of  the  measures  he  favored,  or  in  support  of  his 
desire  to  secure  the  appointment  of  officers  who 
had  the  confidence  of  the  people,  in  distinction 
from  professional  politicians,  he  was  urged  to 
use  the  methods  which  other  governors  had  found 
effective,  that  is,  to  call  the  recalcitrant  Senators 
and  Assemblymen  to  the  executive  chamber  and 
threaten  to  veto  the  bills  in  which  they  were  in- 
terested unless  they  supported  him.  They  knew 
the  power  that  a  governor  could  exercise  if  he 
used  such  a  weapon.  Indeed,  they  were  aware 
that  a  Democratic  leader  who  had  been  governor 


106        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

once  exclaimed  in  indignation,  when  he  heard  of 
the  rebellion  of  the  Legislature  against  another 
Democratic  governor: 

"  Why  doesn't  he  threaten  to  veto  their  bills  if 
they  don't  come  to  time?  That  is  what  the  veto 
power  is  for." 

Mr.  Roosevelt  refused  to  be  persuaded. 

"  Their  bills  belong  to  their  constituents,  and 
to  the  public,"  he  said,  "  and  I  have  no  right  to 
delay,  much  less  to  defeat  them.  As  I  cannot  do 
this,  it  is  unfair  to  threaten  them.  I  must  win 
on  the  merits  of  the  case  or  not  at  all.  But  I 
will  win." 

Measures  which  he  pressed  with  his  personal, 
as  well  as  official,  influence  provided  for  the  pre- 
vention of  the  adulteration  of  food  products  and 
fertilizers,  the  betterment  of  the  wage  workers  in 
tenement  houses,  improvements  in  the  labor  law 
and  the  systems  of  factory  inspection,  the  pro- 
tection of  game,  and  especially  the  honest  and 
efficient  administration  of  the  state  canals  and  the 
extension  of  civil  service  regulations. 

When  he  insisted  on  the  passage  of  a  law  taxing 
the  franchises  of  public  utility  corporations,  after 
classifying  them  as  real  estate,  the  politicians 
again  told  him  that  he  was  destroying  his  politi- 
cal future.  He  insisted  that  he  was  right  and 
that  the  bill  should  be  passed.  The  Legislature 
agreed  to  it  in  the  last  days  of  the  session,  but 
the  bill  was  in  imperfect  shape.  The  Governor 
at  once  called  the  Legislature  together  again  in 
special  session  and  persuaded  it  to  amend  the 
measure  in  accordance  with  his  wishes. 

This  was  in  the  spring  of  1900,  when  the  de- 


"SHELVING"  A  GOVERNOR  107 

mand  for  his  nomination  for  the  vice-presidency 
was  just  beginning.  The  New  York  leaders,  or 
some  of  them,  were  certain  that  Mr.  Roose- 
velt could  not  be  elected  to  the  governorship 
again  if  he  were  renominated.  They  said  that 
the  large  franchise-enjoying  corporations  from 
which  they  were  accustomed  to  receive  large 
campaign  contributions  would  not  give  a  cent  if 
he  were  the  candidate.  Craftily  the  vice-presi- 
dential seed  was  planted  by  the  bosses  who  feared 
him,  in  the  belief  it  would  grow  up  to  choke  the 
political  life  of  Colonel  Roosevelt. 

This  was  the  attitude  of  the  politicians  of  his 
own  State  when  the  demand  for  his  nomination 
to  the  vice-presidency  began  to  be  heard  in  the 
West.  These  politicians  were  willing  and  anx- 
ious to  get  the  complications  of  his  candidacy 
out  of  the  State  campaign.  Mr.  Roosevelt  him- 
self did  not  wish  to  go  to  Washington,  but  was 
anxious  for  another  term  as  governor  to  com- 
plete the  work  which  he  had  begun.  The  vice- 
presidency  had  no  attractions  for  him.  In  April, 
1900,  he  wrote  from  Albany :  "  Here  I  am  occu- 
pied in  trying  not  to  be  made  vice-presidential 
candidate.  I  prefer  to  try  for  the  Governorship 
again :  whether  I  will  be  beaten  or  not  I  cannot 
tell;  I  suppose  I  should  certainly  be  beaten  if  it 
were  not  a  presidential  year ;  but  this  year  there 
is  a  good  chance  of  carrying  the  Governorship, 
too;  whether  it  is  more  than  an  even  chance  I 
should  be  afraid  to  say." 

In  conversation  with  his  acquaintance  he  made 
similar  remarks  about  his  unwillingness  to  be- 
come vice-president.  To  one  such  he  said : 


loS        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

"  I  don't  want  to  sit  up  there  in  the  Senate 
chamber  for  four  years  and  say,  '  All  in  favor 
of  the  motion  signify  it  by  saying  "  Aye,"  all  op- 
posed, "  No,"  the  motion  is  carried  or  lost,'  as  the 
case  may  be ;  '  The  Senator  from  such  and  such 
a  State  has  the  floor  ' ;  and  things  like  that.  Be- 
sides, I'd  have  to  keep  quiet  up  there  on  the  plat- 
form when  that  man  (naming  a  conspicuous 
"  anti-imperialist "  Senator)  got  up  in  his  place 
and  talked  his  confounded  treason,  when  I  should 
feel  like  going  down  on  the  floor  and  knocking  his 
blamed  head  off !  " 

He  was  not  the  candidate  of  the  delegates  from 
New  York  to  the  National  Convention.  They 
were  inclined  to  support  Timothy  L.  Woodruff, 
the  Lieutenant-Governor  of  the  State,  rather 
than  Theodore  Roosevelt,  the  governor.  When 
asked  a  few  years  later  by  Mr.  James  B.  Mor- 
row what  was  the  reason  of  his  failure  to  secure 
the  nomination,  Mr.  Woodruff  replied : 

"  Theodore  Roosevelt's  immense  popularity  in 
the  West  forced  his  candidacy  on  the  delegates, 
notwithstanding  his  wish  and  determination  to 
stay  in  New  York  and  run  for  the  Governor- 
ship again.  Back  from  Cuba  but  a  short  time, 
he  was  a  striking  and  romantic  person- 
ality. I  don't  say  I  could  have  been  nomina- 
ted, although  seventy-two  delegates  from  New 
York  met  in  Philadelphia  and  indorsed  my  candi- 
dacy. It  is  true,  however,  that  New  York's  de- 
mand for  a  place  on  the  national  ticket  is  usually 
respected.  I  was  in  Washington  several  months 
before  the  convention  met.  Mr.  Hanna  (the 
chairman  of  the  Republican  National  Committee) 


"SHELVING"  A  GOVERNOR  109 

sent  for  me.  When  I  got  to  his  room  he  sat 
down  and  put  his  knees  against  mine. 

"  '  Timothy/  he  said,  '  I  hear  that  you  will  be 
a  candidate  for  Vice-President.' 

"  I  told  him  my  friends  had  suggested  it,  but 
that  my  own  mind  was  open  on  the  subject. 

"  '  But  you  are  too  young,'  he  argued. 

"  '  So  far  as  that  goes,'  I  replied,  '  I  am  three 
months  and  twenty-three  days  older  than  Theo- 
dore Roosevelt,  and  my  son  is  a  junior  at  Yale.' 

"  '  Well/  he  answered,  winking  his  right  eye, 
'  you  look  too  young.'  " 

The  demand  for  Mr.  Roosevelt,  as  Mr.  Wood- 
ruff said,  was  so  strong  that  he  could  not  resist 
it.  Many  of  his  friends,  even  so  late  as  the  day 
of  his  nomination  by  the  Philadelphia  conven- 
tion, advised  him  to  refuse  to  allow  his  name  to 
be  presented.  They  told  him  that  if  he  accepted 
he  would  be  shelved  for  four  years  and  his  politi- 
cal career  would  be  ended.  Indeed,  they  be- 
lieved that  a  plot  had  been  laid  by  his  enemies  to 
bury  him  in  the  vice-presidency,  and  three  or 
four  years  later  some  of  these  political  enemies 
confessed  that  this  had  been  their  purpose.  He 
was  inclined  to  believe  that  the  advice  of  his 
friends  was  good  but  he  finally  yielded  to  the 
pressure  brought  to  bear  upon  him  and,  much 
against  his  will,  allowed  himself  to  be  nomi- 
nated. 

The  nomination  was  made  somewhat  in  this 
way.  When  President  McKinley  was  nominated 
and  the  thunder  of  the  cheering  had  died  away, 
Governor  Roosevelt  rose  to  second  the  nomina- 
tion. His  speech  was  a  strong  one.  He  had  a 


no        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

speech  in  his  hand,  type-written,  but  this  he  did 
not  once  look  at,  and  probably  did  not  follow, 
speaking  the  thoughts  that  rose  in  his  mind  and 
speaking  them  powerfully  and  well. 

What  he  had  to  say  evidently  hit  the  mark, 
for  the  members  of  the  convention  at  once  hailed 
him  as  vice-president,  shouting  for  McKinley 
and  Roosevelt.  At  this  Senator  Depew,  seeing 
his  opportunity  drawled  out,  "  In  the  East  we  call 
him  Teddy."  At  this  the  shouting  grew  roof- 
lifting  ;  "  Teddy  Roosevelt !  Teddy  Roosevelt !  " 

Depew  was  achieving  his  scheme  to  "  shelve  " 
Roosevelt.  When  the  latter's  name  was  formally 
presented  to  the  convention  calls  for  a  vote  rose 
on  every  side  and  the  taking  of  it  quickly  began. 
It  ended  as  it  only  could  end  under  such  cir- 
cumstances. McKinley  and  Roosevelt  were  the 
men  of  1900. 

Then  Roosevelt  made  what  the  newspapers  call 
a  "  whirlwind  "  canvass  of  the  country.  He  was 
tireless  and  indefatigable,  traveling  during  it  no 
less  than  twenty-two  thousand  miles,  making 
six  hundred  and  seventy-three  addresses,  speak- 
ing to  three  and  a  half  millions  of  people.  The 
feat  was  unprecedented,  and  it  made  him  known 
to  the  people  to  a  remarkable  extent.  He  was 
highly  popular  before ;  he  was  doubly  popular 
when  this  remarkable  campaign  ended.  When 
the  day  of  election  came  the  popularity  of  the 
candidates  was  shown  in  a  plurality  of  850,000 
votes  and  an  electoral  majority  of  137.  On  the 
4th  of  March,  1901,  he  took  the  oath  of  office 
and  became  Vice-President  of  the  United  States 


"  SHEL  VING  "  A  GO  VERNOR  1 1 1 

and  assumed  the  duties  of  presiding  officer  of  the 
smaller  branch  of  Congress. 

On  his  first  day  in  office  there  occurred  an 
amusing  illustration  of  his  habit  of  doing  what 
he  thought  was  expected  of  him,  even  in  an  un- 
familiar situation.  President  McKinley  and  the 
Senators  and  other  distinguished  persons  left 
the  Senate  chamber  for  the  east  front  of  the 
Capitol,  where  the  oath  was  to  be  administered 
to  the  President  and  where  he  was  to  make  his 
inaugural  address.  No  Senator  had  thought  to 
move  an  adjournment.  Mr.  Roosevelt,  accord- 
ingly, concluded  that  he  must  not  desert  his  post, 
and  he  knew  that  it  was  not  consistent  with  the 
dignity  of  the  Senate  for  him  to  declare  it  ad- 
journed, on  his  own  initiative.  For  a  long  time 
he  remained  alone  on  the  Senate  rostrum.  Not 
another  living  creature  was  in  the  room.  He 
was  put  away  on  a  shelf  and  left  there,  indeed. 
Then  Senator  Heitfeld,  of  Idaho,  went  into  the 
chamber  on  his  way  to  the  Democratic  cloak- 
room to  get  his  rain-coat,  which  he  had  left  be- 
hind. He  took  in  the  situation  at  once,  and  with 
great  solemnity  addressed  the  Chair.  What 
happened  might  have  appeared  in  the  Congres- 
sional Record  something  like  this : 

Mr.  Heitfeld  —  Mr.  President. 

The  Vice- President  —  The  Senator  from 
Idaho. 

Mr.  Heitfeld  —  I  move  that  the  Senate  do  now 
adjourn  till  12  o'clock  noon  to-morrow. 

The  Vice-President — (looking  vastly  relieved) 
—  The  Senator  from  Idaho  moves  that  the  Senate 


Ii2        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

do  now  adjourn  until  12  o'clock  noon  to-morrow. 
Is  there  any  objection?  The  Chair  hears  none, 
and  the  Senate  stands  adjourned  until  the  hour 
named. 

Mr.  Roosevelt  emphasized  this  announcement 
with  a  hearty  thump  of  the  gavel  and  rushed 
down  from  the  rostrum  and  thanked  the  Senator 
for  coming  to  his  rescue.  When  he  became 
President,  Senator  Heitfeld  was  one  of  his  first 
callers,  and  Mr.  Roosevelt  asked,  as  he  grasped 
his  hand: 

"  Do  you  remember  when  you  and  I  were  the 
whole  Senate?  I  want  to  thank  you  again  for 
what  you  did  that  day.  If  it  hadn't  been  that  you 
forgot  your  rain-coat  and  had  to  return  for  it 
there  is  no  telling  how  long  I  should  have  had  to 
preside  over  an  empty  Senate." 


CHAPTER  VII 

PRESIDENT   BY   THE   CALL   OF  DEATH 

THE  "  Old  Guard  "  of  Republican  politicians 
were  congratulating  themselves  that  they  had 
buried  Roosevelt  in  the  famous  graveyard  of 
political  ambitions  —  the  Vice-Presidency. 

He  had  begun  to  adjust  himself  to  four  years 
of  life  in  Washington  as  presiding  officer  of  the 
Senate,  and  was  again  giving  some  consideration 
to  the  reading  of  law  that  he  might  have  a  lucra- 
tive profession  when  his  term  expired,  a  pro- 
fession whose  returns  were  more  certain  than 
those  of  literature. 


PRESIDENT  BY  CALL  OF  DEATH        113 

Then  came  the  assassination  of  President  Mc- 
Kinley. 

There  are  few  more  trying  positions  that  a 
man  can  occupy,  remarks  George  William  Doug- 
las, than  that  into  which  an  American  Vice- 
President  is  forced  by  the  sudden  death  of  the 
President.  As  Vice-President  he  has  been 
elected  to  an  office  with  little  power.  Its  influ- 
ence over  legislation  is  so  slight  that  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  discover  it,  and  its  demands  on  the  time  of 
its  occupant  are  usually  limited  to  the  hours  when 
he  is  in  the  chair. 

To  be  suddenly  lifted  from  this  inconspicuous 
place  into  the  most  powerful  executive  office  in 
the  world,  at  the  head  of  one  of  the  greatest  na- 
tions, is  enough  to  try  the  stuff  in  any  man. 
They  say  that  when  Vice-President  Arthur  heard 
of  the  assault  upon  President  Garfield  he  spoke 
not  a  word.  He  sat  down  and  stared  into  va- 
cancy for  fifteen  minutes,  and  when  he  rose  he 
had  the  manner  of  a  man  who  was  staggering 
under  a  great  burden  that  had  just  been  put  upon 
his  shoulders. 

The  first  effect  of  the  news  of  the  assault  upon 
President  McKinley  was  to  overpower  Mr. 
Roosevelt  with  grief  for  the  injury  to  a  friend. 

"  He  must  live.  He  must  live,"  was  his 
thought  and  his  word. 

He  received  every  favorable  report  with  de- 
light, as  it  indicated  the  fulfillment  of  his  wishes, 
and  when  it  was  announced  that  the  danger  was 
over,  he  went  back  from  Buffalo  to  the  Adiron- 
dacks  to  resume  his  interrupted  vacation. 

"  To  become  President  through  the  assassin's 


ii4        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

bullet  means  nothing  to  me,"  he  said  at  the  home 
of  Ansley  Wilcox,  in  Buffalo.  "  Aside  from  the 
horror  of  having  President  McKinley  die,  there 
is  an  additional  horror  in  becoming  his  successor 
in  that  way.  The  thing  that  appeals  to  me  is  to 
be  elected  President.  That  is  the  way  I  want 
the  honor  to  come  if  I  am  ever  to  receive  it." 

When,  after  a  sudden  relapse,  the  President 
died,  Vice-President  Roosevelt  was  in  the  moun- 
tains, no  one  knew  exactly  where.  Runners  were 
sent  in  haste  to  find  him,  and  fired  their  guns  at 
intervals  until  he  heard  and  understood  that  the 
shots  must  be  intended  as  signals.  He  was  high 
on  Mount  Marcy  when  he  fired  his  own  gun  in 
response  and  the  searchers  found  him. 

The  sudden  news,  blurted  without  ceremony, 
almost  stunned  him.  He  didn't  speak  for  min- 
utes, gazing  the  while  silently  toward  a  distant 
mountain  peak.  Then  he  went  into  his  camp, 
hastily  threw  his  belongings  together  and  drove 
off  at  hair  raising  speed  through  the  autumnal 
woods  toward  a  railway  station  many  miles 
away.  For  several  hours  he  urged  the  driver  of 
the  mountain  buckboard  to  drive  faster,  as  the 
horses  plunged  through  the  black,  misty  night 
down  the  rough  trail.  With  great  difficulty 
Roosevelt  held  to  his  seat.  At  five  o'clock  in  the 
morning  he  reached  the  train.  At  three  in  the 
afternoon  he  was  in  Buffalo,  and  strode  nerv- 
ously, with  fixed  gaze,  into  a  darkened  room  in 
the  Milburn  residence,  a  room  adjoining  the  one 
in  which  the  body  of  the  martyred  McKinley 
lay.  Distinguished  old  men,  their  white  heads 
bowed,  sat  about  the  darkened  room  as  the  youth- 


PRESIDENT  BY  CALL  OF  DEATH        115 

ful  looking  Roosevelt  entered  with  quick,  alert 
step. 

"  The  President !  "  some  one  whispered,  and 
the  elder  statesmen  rose  to  their  feet.  They  in- 
formed him  that  for  purposes  of  state  it  would 
be  necessary  for  him  to  take  the  oath  at  once. 
Judge  Hazel  administered  the  solemn  oath  of 
President  of  the  United  States,  and  half  an  hour 
later  the  new  President  held  his  first  Cabinet 
meeting.  He  asked  all  the  members  of  Mc- 
Kinley's  Cabinet  to  remain  with  him,  and  all  of 
them  consented. 

President  Roosevelt's  first  public  declaration, 
upon  assuming  office,  was  a  pledge  to  carry  out 
unbroken  the  policies  of  his  predecessor.  "  It 
would  have  been  impossible  for  him,"  said 
Walter  Wellman,  writing  of  the  occasion,  "  to 
make  a  wiser  or  stronger  promise  to  the  country. 
That  brought  him  confidence  and  sympathy, 
which  he  could  have  won  in  no  other  way.  His 
sincerity  no  one  could  doubt;  standing  by  the 
bier  of  McKinley,  confronted  with  the  great  task 
which  fate  had  thrust  upon  him,  he  meant  every 
word  of  it.  Yet  it  was  but  a  few  hours  before 
the  positive  individuality,  the  self-reliance,  and 
the  aggressive  ego  of  the  new  president  led  him 
into  plans  for  a  reconstruction  of  the  cabinet. 
Had  no  check  come  to  these  hastily  formed 
plans,  to  these  wholly  natural  self-assertions  in  a 
most  trying  hour,  the  cabinet  that  McKinley  left 
would  not  have  been  the  cabinet  of  his  suc- 
cessor. 

"  Probably  no  greater  service  was  ever  ren- 
dered a  newly  installed  President  than  was  then 


ii6        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

and  there  rendered  Mr.  Roosevelt  by  Senator 
Marcus  A.  Hanna  and  Secretary  of  War  Elihu 
Root.  To  them  was  due  the  change  —  the  spir- 
itual betterment,  it  might  be  called  —  which 
averted  the  threatened  disruption.  It  is  proper 
to  add  that  at  no  time  in  his  marvelous  career  has 
Mr.  Roosevelt  shown  greater  strength  of  charac- 
ter of  the  right  and  true  sort  than  when  he  per- 
mitted himself  to  be  thus  guided.  With  that 
clear-headedness  which  has  often  marked  him  in 
the  crisis  of  his  life,  and  with  that  willingness  to 
listen  and  to  learn  which  is  beautiful  in  an  in- 
trepid character  like  his,  he  yielded  his  half- 
formed  plans  for  reconstruction  of  the  council, 
and  exclaimed :  "  We'll  keep  them  all ;  we'll  re- 
tain the  whole  McKinley  government  and  carry 
out  all  the  McKinley  policies,  in  their  full  spirit 
and  letter." 

"  Thus  was  averted  a  blunder  which  might  well 
have  been  fatal.  It  mattered  not  that  afterwards 
a  few  members  of  the  McKinley  cabinet  with- 
drew,—  Mr.  Roosevelt  did  not  drive  them  out. 
It  mattered  not  that  gradually  some  of  the  Mc- 
Kinley policies  were  forgotten  or  became  less 
popular, —  probably  Mr.  McKinley  himself  could 
not  have  carried  out  all  of  them  —  reciprocity, 
for  example, —  had  he  lived.  The  point  was  that 
Mr.  Roosevelt  had  won  the  country.  By  an  act 
of  self-abnegation  he  had  made  himself  morally 
large  and  well-nigh  perfect  in  the  eyes  of  the 
people." 

On  his  first  Sunday  in  Washington  as  Presi- 
dent he  went  quietly  to  the  little  Reformed 
Church  which  he  had  been  accustomed  to  at- 


PRESIDENT  BY  CALL  OF  DEATH        117 

tend.  Here  he  joined  in  the  prayers  offered,  and 
sang  with  the  congregation,  and  nodded  approv- 
ingly as  the  preacher  expressed  sentiments  with 
which  he  agreed. 

He  entered  upon  his  new  duties  with  char- 
acteristic vigor.  While  trying  to  carry  out  the 
McKinley  policies,  he  had  to  do  so  in  the  Roose- 
velt way.  "  There  is  a  prevalent  impression," 
continued  Mr.  Wellman,  "  that  Mr.  Roosevelt 
led  a  strenuous  life  in  the  White  House, —  that 
he  played  there  a  strong  hand,  ruling  imperiously, 
and  sometimes  impetuously, —  being  self-willed, 
high-spirited,  and  impatient  of  restraint.  Noth- 
ing could  be  farther  from  the  truth.  Not  in  my 
time  has  there  been  a  man  in  the  White  House 
who  leaned  more  heavily  upon  his  advisers ;  one 
more  eager  to  seek  and  to  follow  good  counsel ; 
or  one  more  prone  to  '  heart  to  heart '  talks  with 
all  whose  positions  or  interests  have  given  them 
right  to  be  heard  or  offered  promise  of  good  from 
conference  with  them.  Few  great  men  are  actu- 
ally what  they  seem,  and  Mr.  Roosevelt  was  very 
far  from  being  the  character  the  popular  im- 
pression ascribed  to  him.  With  rare  exceptions 
he  took  no  important  step  without  the  fullest  and 
frankest  conferences  with  members  of  his  cabinet 
and  leaders  of  his  party.  In  no  other  recent 
administration  were  there  so  many  councils  of 
war  at  the  White  House.  At  Washington  it 
was  axiomatic  that  Mr.  Roosevelt  never  did  any- 
thing without  talking  it  over  with  many  people, 
—  cabinet  officers,  senators,  representatives,  and 
personal  friends, —  so  much  so  that  it  was  a  com- 
mon joke  that  cabinet  ministers  and  a  coterie  of 


n8        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

leading  republican  senators  never  dared  make 
dinner  engagements,  lest  they  be  summoned  to 
the  White  House  at  the  very  moment  they  should 
be  forking  their  oysters.  It  was  not  a  method 
which  conduced  to  the  close  keeping  of  secrets ; 
but  it  had  its  advantages,  and  it  gave  a  loud  nega- 
tive to  the  prevalent  belief  that  the  President  was 
too  self-reliant,  and  too  much  prone  to  "  go  it 
alone,"  as  a  sort  of  bull  in  the  China  shop  of 
statesmanship. 

"  There  are  exceptions  to  most  rules,  and  Mr. 
Roosevelt,  like  all  other  strong  and  fearless  men 
under  habitual  self-restraint  and  discipline,  was 
liable,  now  and  then,  to  do  the  unexpected. 
Probably  the  greatest  act  of  his  first  administra- 
tion, in  so  far  as  its  effects  upon  his  political 
future  were  concerned,  was  performed  without 
consultation  even  with  his  Cabinet.  This  act 
and  the  manner  of  doing  it  were  so  character- 
istic of  the  man  that  they  must  be  placed  in 
history. 

"  He  ordered  suit  brought  against  the  North- 
ern Securities  Company  without  once  laying  the 
matter  before  his  constitutional  advisers.  They 
knew  nothing  of  it  until  they  read  it  in  the  news- 
papers. Attorney-General  Knox  was  the  only 
man  consulted.  Even  Mr.  Root,  the  great  law- 
yer from  New  York,  who  knew  better  than  any 
one  else  the  magnitude  and  sensitiveness  of  the 
interests  involved, —  Root,  upon  whom  Mr. 
Roosevelt  had  so  heavily  leaned,  as  had  his 
predecessor  in  office,  that,  when  the  great  war 
secretary  boarded  a  train  to  leave  Washington, 
on  the  first  day  of  February,  a  member  of  the 


PRESIDENT  BY  CALL  OF  DEATH        119 

Cabinet  remarked,  "  There  goes  back  to  his 
law  office  a  man  who  has  been  president  of  the 
United  States  for  four  and  one-half  years," — 
even  Mr.  Root  was  not  advised,  and  the  North- 
ern Securities  thunderclap  came  to  his  ears  out 
of  a  clear  blue  sky.  But  Mr.  Roosevelt  knew 
what  he  was  about.  He  knew  that,  if  this  pro- 
posal had  been  made  in  council,  fierce  opposition 
to  it  would  have  appeared.  Members  of  his 
Cabinet  would  have  resigned  rather  than  be 
parties  to  it.  Before  a  decision  could  have  been 
reached,  if  once  the  case  had  been  thrown  open 
to  debate,  the  great  interests  in  New  York  would 
have  heard  of  it,  and  pressure  vast,  insistent,  and 
almost  irresistible  would  have  been  brought  to 
bear  to  stay  his  hand.  It  was  better  that  he 
should  keep  his  own  counsel,  and  that  he  alone 
should  bear  the  responsibility. 

"  Every  one  knows  that  an  explosion  followed. 
New  York  was  rabid.  The  President  was  trying 
to  destroy  prosperity.  His  course  was  hostile  to 
the  business  interests  of  the  country.  He  was  an 
enemy  of  commerce,  of  property,  and  of  stabil- 
ity. Such  a  man  was  '  unsafe/  and  not  to  be 
trusted.  But  he  did  not  worry.  Trusting  to  his 
instinct,  which  never  failed  him  in  his  pursuit  of 
big  game,  he  watched  the  effect  upon  public 
opinion.  In  a  week  he  knew  he  had  the  coun- 
try with  him ;  he  had  convinced  the  masses  that 
he  was  fearless,  that  he  dared  beard  the  trust 
lion  in  his  den,  and  that  his  courage  was  equal 
to  his  promises.  He  was  content.  He  felt  that 
he  had  won  his  battle, —  that  he  had  made  him- 
self the  man  of  the  people.  He  was  right.  The 


120        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

Northern  Securities  case  earned  him  the  enmity 
of  the  recklessly  speculative  portion  of  Wall 
Street,  and  it  was  enmity  of  that  very  kind  that 
helped  to  give  him  the  nomination  of  his  party 
for  a  second  term  virtually  without  opposition. 

"  In  the  autumn  following  a  great  strike  in 
the  anthracite  coal  regions  of  Pennsylvania 
threatened  to  cripple  the  country.  With  char- 
acteristic fighting  spirit  —  called  '  meddling  '  by 
his  opponents  —  he  started  to  untie  the  tangle 
into  which  coal  operators  and  labor  had  got 
themselves.  But  in  the  matter  of  the  coal  strike, 
President  Roosevelt  thought  long  and  carefully 
before  he  acted.  Then  with  the  exclamation,  '  I 
suppose  this'll  end  me,  but  I'll  do  it,'  he  ap- 
pointed an  arbitrating  commission  —  and  the 
miners  went  back  to  work.  Again  the  brokers 
were  angry,  but  once  more  the  people  applauded. 
As  long  as  Wall  Street  fought  him,  the  President 
hit  back.  He  exposed  the  famous  blunder  of  the 
Rockefellers  in  trying  to  defeat  anti-trust  legis- 
lation with  clumsy  telegrams,  clinching  his  hold 
upon  the  country  as  an  intrepid  foe  of  the  trusts. 
He  let  it  become  known  that  Wall  Street  had 
made  overtures  of  peace  on  a  basis  of  some 
pledge  from  the  President  as  to  his  future  course, 
—  a  proffer  which  he  declined  with  scorn." 

It  was  during  the  end  of  the  same  year,  1902, 
that  our  affairs  dangerously  shifted  to  a  part  of 
the  world,  Venezuela,  which  had  almost  led  us 
into  a  European  war  during  the  Cleveland 
regime.  A  fleet  of  Germans  and  British  war- 
ships came  to  anchor  off  La  Guayra  in  Decem- 
ber—  first  having  obtained  United  States  per- 


PRESIDENT  BY  CALL  OF  DEATH         121 

mission  to  do  so  —  and  told  President  Castro 
that  if  certain  debts  due  Germans  and  English- 
men weren't  paid,  the  fleet  would  seize  certain 
Venezuelan  ports  and  custom  houses  and  hold 
them  until  the  amounts  in  dispute  had  been  ob- 
tained. 

Castro's  answer  was  immediate  preparation  for 
armed  defense.  The  Europeans  opened  fire, 
ports  were  bombarded,  Venezuelans  were  killed. 

Then  ensued  one  of  the  momentous  episodes  of 
America's  foreign  relations  in  modern  times,  one 
of  the  bravest  and  most  dramatic  moves  ever 
made  by  an  American  President  on  his  own  re- 
sponsibility, and  certainly  President  Roosevelt's 
most  forcible  act  in  validation  of  the  Monroe 
Doctrine. 

Quietly,  consulting  nobody,  he  used  the  navy 
with  complete  success  as  his  Big  Stick  over  the 
swollen  heads  of  the  Kaiser  and  the  Pan-Ger- 
mans, eager  to  make  their  claims  a  pretext  for  a 
characteristic  rape  of  Venezuelan  territory.  The 
episode  never  was  known  to  the  public  until  an 
account  of  it,  authorized  by  Colonel  Roosevelt, 
appeared  in  "  The  Life  of  John  Hay,"  by  Profes- 
sor William  Roscoe  Thayer.  Here  is  that  ac- 
count : 

"  In  1901  Germany  persuaded  Italy  and  Eng- 
land to  join  her  in  blockading  the  coast  of  Vene- 
zuela until  the  more  or  less  irresponsible  Govern- 
ment of  that  country  should  see  to  it  that  long- 
standing debts  were  paid  to  Germans,  English- 
men and  Italians.  What  was  called  a  '  pacific 
blockade '  was  established  in  December.  During 
the  following  year  Secretary  of  State  Hay  vainly 


122        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

urged  the  blockaders  to  arbitrate,  but  on  Decem- 
ber 8,  1902,  Germany  severed  diplomatic  rela- 
tions with  Venezuela,  making  it  plain,  that  *  the 
next  steps  would  be  the  bombardment  of 
Venezuelan  towns  and  the  occupation  of 
Venezuelan  territory.'  Here  the  Monroe  Doc- 
trine was  put  to  a  sharp  test.  '  If  the  United 
States  permitted  foreign  nations  under  the  pre- 
tense of  supporting  their  creditors'  claims  to  in- 
vade a  weak  debtor  state  by  naval  or  military  ex- 
pedition and  to  take  possession  of  its  territory, 
what  would  become  of  the  Doctrine?'  Fur- 
thermore, Germany  had  just  before  this  appar- 
ently been  making  efforts  to  get  a  foothold  in 
the  Western  Hemisphere  within  striking  distance 
of  the  Panama  Canal. 

"  At  this  point  President  Roosevelt  took  the 
matter  out  of  the  hands  of  the  Secretary  of  State. 
England  and  Italy  at  once  agreed  to  come  to  an 
understanding,  but  Germany  refused.  *  She 
stated  that  if  she  took  possession  of  territory 
such  possession  would  only  be  temporary ' ; 
but  such  possessions  easily  become  permanent; 
and,  besides,  it  is  difficult  to  trust  to  guarantees 
which  may  be  treated  as  '  scraps  of  paper.' " 
Here  is  the  way  President  Roosevelt  taught  the 
Kaiser  that  the  Monroe  Doctrine  was  more  than 
a  "  scrap  of  paper." 

"  One  day,  when  the  crisis  was  at  its  height,  he 
summoned  to  the  White  House  Dr.  Holleben, 
the  German  Ambassador,  and  told  him  that  un- 
less Germany  consented  to  arbitrate,  the  Amer- 
ican squadron  under  Admiral  Dewey  would  be 
given  orders,  by  noon  ten  days  later,  to  proceed 


PRESIDENT  BY  CALL  OF  DEATH        123 

to  the  Venezuelan  coast  and  prevent  any  taking 
possession  of  Venezuelan  territory. 

"  Dr.  Holleben  began  to  protest  that  his  Im- 
perial master,  having  once  refused  to  arbitrate, 
could  not  change  his  mind.  The  President  said 
that  he  was  not  arguing  the  question,  because 
arguments  had  already  been  gone  over  until  no 
useful  purpose  would  be  served  by  repeating 
them;  he  was  simply  giving  information  which 
the  Ambassador  might  think  it  important  to 
transmit  to  Berlin.  A  week  passed  in  silence. 
Then  Dr.  Holleben  again  called  on  the  Presi- 
dent, but  said  nothing  of  the  Venezuelan  matter. 
When  he  rose  to  go,  the  President  asked  him 
about  it,  and  when  he  stated  that  he  had  received 
nothing  from  his  Government,  the  President  in- 
formed him  in  substance  that,  in  view  of  this 
fact,  Admiral  Dewey  would  be  instructed  to  sail 
a  day  earlier  than  the  day  he,  the  President,  had 
originally  mentioned.  Much  perturbed,  the 
Ambassador  protested;  the  President  informed 
him  that  not  a  stroke  of  a  pen  had  been  put  on 
paper;  that  if  the  Emperor  would  agree  to  arbi- 
trate, he,  the  President,  would  heartily  praise 
him  for  such  action  and  would  treat  it  as  taken 
on  Germany's  initiative ;  but  that  within  forty- 
eight  hours  there  must  be  an  offer  to  arbitrate 
or  Dewey  would  sail  with  the  orders  indicated. 
Within  thirty-six  hours  Dr.  Holleben  returned 
to  the  White  House  and  announced  to  President 
Roosevelt  that  a  dispatch  had  just  come  from 
Berlin,  saying  that  the  Kaiser  would  arbitrate. 
Neither  Admiral  Dewey  (who  with  an  American 
fleet  was  then  maneuvering  in  the  West  Indies) 


124        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

nor  any  one  else  knew  of  the  step  that  was  to  be 
taken ;  the  naval  authorities  were  merely  required 
to  be  in  readiness,  but  were  not  told  what  for. 

"  On  the  announcement  that  Germany  had  con- 
sented to  arbitrate,  the  President  publicly  compli- 
mented the  Kaiser  on  being  so  staunch  an  ad- 
vocate of  arbitration. 

"  The  humor  of  this  was  probably  relished 
more  in  the  White  House  than  in  the  Palace  at 
Berlin.  The  Kaiser  suggested  that  the  President 
should  act  as  arbiter,  and  Mr.  Roosevelt  was 
ready  to  serve ;  but  Mr.  Hay  dissuaded  him.  Mr. 
Hay  had  permitted  Mr.  Herbert  W.  Bowen, 
American  Minister  to  Venezuela,  to  act  as  arbi- 
trator for  that  country,  and  Mr.  Bowen  regarded 
it  as  improper  that  the  United  States,  which  also 
had  claims  against  Venezuela,  should  sit  in  judg- 
ment on  that  case.  Mr.  Hay,  desirous  of  vali- 
dating the  Hague  Tribunal,  saw  a  further  ad- 
vantage in  referring  to  it  this  very  important 
contention.  The  President  acquiesced  therefore, 
and  Venezuela's  claims  went  to  The  Hague  for 
arbitrament." 

In  a  letter  to  a  private  correspondent,  Secre- 
tary Hay  takes  a  parting  shot  at  the  Venezuelan 
settlement : 

"  They  (the  German  Government)  are  very 
much  preoccupied  in  regard  to  our  attitude,  and 
a  communique  recently  appeared  in  the  Berlin 
papers  indicating  that  the  negotiations  would 
have  gone  on  better  but  for  our  interference. 
We  have  not  interfered,  except  in  using  what 
good  offices  we  could  dispose  of  to  induce  all 
parties  to  come  to  a  speedy  and  honorable  set- 


PRESIDENT  BY  CALL  OF  DEATH        125 

tlement,  and  in  this  we  have  been,  I  think,  emi- 
nently successful.  I  think  the  thing  that  rankles 
most  in  the  German  official  mind  is  what  Bowen 
said  to  Sternburg :  '  Very  well,  I  will  pay  this 
money  which  you  demand,  because  I  am  not  in 
position  to  refuse,  but  I  give  you  warning  that 
for  every  thousand  dollars  you  exact  in  this  way, 
you  will  lose  a  million  in  South-American 
trade.'  " 

It  was  seven  years  and  five  months  later  that 
Colonel  Roosevelt,  duly  visiting  Berlin  in  the 
course  of  his  triumphal  tour  of  Europe  at  the 
end  of  the  African  hunt,  and  reviewing  German 
troops  at  maneuvers  in  the  Kaiser's  company, 
was  fulsomely  addressed  by  the  monarch  he  had 
thwarted :  "  My  friend  Roosevelt,  I  am  glad  to 
welcome  you,  the  most  distinguished  American. 
You  are  the  first  civilian  who  has  ever  reviewed 
German  soldiers !  " 

The  next  year  the  old  Alaska  boundary  dis- 
pute between  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States 
began  to  erupt  again.  At  Roosevelt's  suggestion 
the  matter  was  settled  once  and  for  all  by  a  joint 
commission  that  met  in  London  —  the  commis- 
sion deciding  in  favor  of  the  American  con- 
tentions. 

As  Roosevelt's  "  first  term  "  drew  to  a  close 
the  eyes  of  the  Administration  in  a  day  were 
turned  upon  Morocco.  An  American,  Ion  Per- 
dicaris,  and  his  English  son-in-law  were  kid- 
naped from  their  home  near  Tangier  by  the 
notorious  Moorish  bandit,  Raisuli,  on  May  18, 
1904.  Raisuli  demanded  a  ransom  and  other 
favors  from  the  Sultan  of  Morocco  before  he 


126        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

would  release  his'  prisoners.  Nine  days  later  on 
orders  from  Roosevelt  the  U.  S.  S.  cruiser 
Brooklyn  with  Rear  Admiral  Chadwick's  flag  fly- 
ing was  headed  toward  Tangier,  Rear  Admiral 
Jewell  following  with  three  more  warships. 
British  warships  joined  the  fleet  in  African 
waters. 

"  Perdicaris  alive  or  Raisuli  dead !  "  Roosevelt 
was  quoted  as  saying,  and  whether  he  said  it  or 
not  the  slogan  blazed  around  the  world.  And  a 
month  later  the  American  and  Englishman  had 
been  released,  although  Raisuli  in  the  meantime 
had  obtained  from  the  Sultan  about  all  the  bandit 
had  demanded. 

The  declaration  of  war  between  Japan  and 
Russia  in  February,  1904,  was  to  result  eventu- 
ally in  one  of  the  most  famous  diplomatic  tri- 
umphs of  Roosevelt's  seven  and  a  half  years  in 
the  White  House.  He  enjoyed  the  unbounded 
confidence  of  both  belligerents,  and  he  had  been 
watching  closely  for  the  right  moment  to  offer  his 
good  offices  to  restore  peace.  While  the  terrific 
land  and  sea  fights  in  the  Orient  were  holding 
the  attention  of  the  world,  Roosevelt  and  his 
remarkable  Secretary  of  State,  the  late  John 
Hay,  sent  forth  first  the  famous  "  Hay  Note," 
asking  that  the  two  warring  countries  respect 
the  neutrality  of  China  lest  a  greater  catas- 
trophe be  precipitated. 

Russia  and  Japan  agreed  to  the  American  re- 
quest. In  the  meantime  came  Roosevelt's  nomi- 
nation to  succeed  himself  for  a  full  term  in  the 
White  House ;  and  some  measure  of  the  way 
America  had  lost  its  fear  of  a  "  Man  on  Horse- 


PRESIDENT  BY  CALL  OF  DEATH        127 

back  "  in  the  Presidential  chair  may  be  gathered 
from  the  fact  that  the  Colonel  was  elected  over 
his  Democratic  opponent,  Judge  Alton  B. 
Parker,  by  the  greatest  popular  vote  ever  ac- 
corded a  Presidential  candidate. 

The  Russian-Japanese  war  was  constantly  in 
his  thoughts.  The  beginning  of  his  full  term 
seemed  to  the  President  the  psychological  mo- 
ment to  propose  to  Japan  and  Russia  that  they 
get  together  peacefully  and  thresh  out  their  dif- 
ference in  conferences.  On  June  7,  1905,  the 
President  sent  a  note  to  the  Czar  and  another  to 
the  Mikado  asking  them  if  they  didn't  think  it 
would  be  best  for  all  mankind  if  they  met  for 
peace.  Following  a  long  discussion  as  to  the 
exact  spot  where  they  should  meet  the  peace  en- 
voys from  Japan  and  Russia  began  to  confer  at 
Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  on  August  10,  1905  —  Wash- 
ington being  too  hot  at  that  time  of  the  year. 

The  peace  treaty  was  signed  on  September  5, 
1905,  and  the  world  arose  and  acclaimed  Roose- 
velt the  fighter  as  the  greatest  peacemaker  of  the 
age.  The  following  year  he  received  the  Nobel 
Peace  Prize  of  $40,000  for  that  great  service. 

The  keen  study  given  to  naval  matters  by  the 
former  President  while  Assistant  Secretary  was 
shown  in  his  first  message  to  Congress,  which 
included  more  than  a  hundred  specific  recom- 
mendations as  to  the  navy.  Throughout  the 
time  he  was  President,  Roosevelt  showed  the 
keenest  interest  in  the  development  of  the  navy, 
insisting  on  fleet  maneuvers  and  target  practice 
as  the  only  means  of  keeping  it  fit.  Finally  he 
sent  the  Atlantic  fleet  under  Rear  Admiral 


128        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

(Fighting  Bob)  Evans  on  its  memorable  cruise 
around  the  world,  the  first  and  last  voyage  of 
its  kind  ever  undertaken  by  any  battle  fleet. 

But  Colonel  Roosevelt's  interest  was  not  con- 
fined to  the  naval  service  alone.  During  his 
first  Administration  he  succeeded  in  having  Con- 
gress enact  the  first  General  Staff  act,  and  he 
promptly  appointed  as  organizer  and  first  Chief 
of  Staff  Major-General  Leonard  Wood,  now 
the  ranking  line  officer  of  the  army. 

Mr.  Roosevelt  had  laid  the  foundation  for  the 
staff  by  taking  General  Wood,  then  a  surgeon, 
from  the  medical  service,  and  appointing  him 
commander  of  the  famous  regiment  of  Rough 
Riders,  which  the  former  President  organized  at 
the  outbreak  of  the  war  with  Spain. 

Some  army  officers  said  that  the  importance 
of  this  first,  though  incomplete,  victory  over  the 
bureaucratic  system  that  had  always  ruled  the 
War  Department  was  shown  by  the  fact  that  it 
was  not  until  now,  with  all  the  experience  of 
the  great  war  as  a  foundation,  that  the  Depart- 
ment was  preparing  with  hopes  of  success  to  sub- 
mit to  Congress  a  bill  providing  for  full  General 
Staff  control  and  responsibility  for  all  army 
matters. 

CHAPTER  VIII 

CONTACT  WITH   THE   PEOPLE 

QUITE  different  from  the  accustomed  for- 
mality of  Presidential  interviews,  Mr.  Roose- 
velt's way  of  meeting  visitors  at  the  White 


CONTACT  WITH  THE  PEOPLE  129 

House  came,  at  first,  with  the  surprise  and 
tingle  of  an  electric  shock.  Mr.  George  William 
Douglas  tells  of  a  man  who  was  present  one  day 
in  1901,  when  Mr.  Roosevelt  had  been  Presi- 
dent about  two  months,  and  this  man  describes 
the  scene  in  a  most  lively  manner.  Every  phase 
of  humanity  was  gathered  in  the  waiting  room, 
when  the  President  bounded  into  the  room  un- 
announced, and  seized  the  hand  of  the  first  per- 
son he  saw. 

"  Glad  to  see  you,"  he  exclaimed  as  he  grasped 
the  hand  of  the  visitor.  There  was  an  emphasis 
on  the  "  you  "  which  startled  the  visitor  with  its 
ring  of  candor.  But  scarcely  had  he  recovered 
from  his  astonishment  sufficiently  to  begin  his 
speech,  before  the  President  had  darted  half- 
way across  the  circle,  leaving  outstretched  hands 
tingling  with  the  rush  of  blood  caused  by  the 
firm  Presidential  grasp,  and  startled  ears  try- 
ing to  realize  that  into  them  had  been  hurled 
the  assurance  that  he  was  glad  to  see  them. 

When  the  President  was  not  "  Glad  to  see 
you "  he  was  "  Delighted  to  see  you,"  our  in- 
formant assures  us.  Statesmen,  office-seekers, 
giggling  brides,  tuft-hunters,  notoriety-seekers, 
stately  ladies,  capitalists,  laborers,  Democrats, 
Republicans,  Populists,  all  got  the  same  greet- 
ing, the  same  nervous  but  firm  handshake,  the 
same  glitter  of  the  eye.  And  then  away  darted 
this  bundle  of  nerves  and  steel. 

To  the  visiting  delegations  who  appeared  with 
a  spokesman  and  with  the  motive  of  suggest- 
ing something  of  value  either  to  the  nation  or 
to  themselves,  these  early  methods  of  the  Presi- 


130        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

dent  were  perhaps  displayed  to  the  best  advan- 
tage. A  party  of  men  from  Montana  were  pres- 
ent on  the  day  in  question,  and  they  desired  to 
impress  on  the  President  the  necessity  and  the 
value  of  their  irrigation  plans. 

"  We  would  like  to  have  a  word  with  you 
about  irrigation,  Mr.  President,"  the  spokesman 
began.  He  was  immediately  cut  short  by  the 
President  saying  in  a  tone  that  was  heard  all 
over  the  room  and  out  in  the  hallway : 

"  Yes,  oh  yes.  You  favor  irrigation,  do  you  ? 
Well,  so  do  I,  I  have  urged  it  in  my  message. 
Here,  Cortelyou,  get  me  a  printed  copy  of  my 
message  so  I  can  read  to  these  gentlemen  what  I 
am  going  to  say  to  Congress  on  the  subject  of 
irrigation." 

The  printed  copy  was  produced  at  once  and 
the  President  read  so  everybody  within  earshot 
could  hear  what  he  intended  to  ask  Congress 
to  do  on  the  irrigation  question. 

A  tall  man,  moving  about  with  a  dignified 
stride,  next  caught  the  President's  eye,  as  the 
Montana  delegation  backed  away.  What  the 
man  of  mystery  and  dignity  said  could  not  be 
heard,  but  what  the  President  said  could  be. 

"  Yes,  yes,  I  know  you  and  I  am  delighted  to 
see  you,"  said  Mr.  Roosevelt,  "  but  you  must  put 
your  application  in  writing.  Yes.  Put  it  in 
writing  and  send  it  to  me  with  your  indorse- 
ments and  I'll  see  what  can  be  done." 

The  man  leaned  forward  and  whispered  again, 
this  time  his  face  crimson  with  blushes  of  em- 
barrassment. 

"Oh,  I  know  all  about  that.     Yes,  certainly 


CONTACT  WITH  THE  PEOPLE  131 

I  do.  And  I  have  no  doubt  you  would  fill  the 
bill.  But  I  do  not  know  whether  or  not  there 
is  a  vacancy.  Don't  you  know  that  it  is  im- 
possible for  me  to  keep  all  these  things  in  my 
head?  Write  out  your  application.  Write  it 
out,  and  then  send  it  to  me  with  your  indorse- 
ments. Come  to  see  me  again,  soon.  Good-by." 

"  Ah,  there's  Mr.  White ! "  exclaimed  the 
President  as  he  espied  a  scholarly-looking  man 
with  short  gray  beard  sitting  modestly  and  pa- 
tiently back  in  a  corner  away  from  the  jostling 
crowd.  "  Go  into  my  office,  Mr.  White.  I  shall 
be  there  in  two  or  three  minutes."  Mr.  White, 
who  is  a  New  York  editor,  did  as  he  was  directed. 

"  Glad  to  see  you,"  "  Delighted  to  see  you," 
"  Glad  to  see  you,"  "  Delighted,"  then  rang  out 
in  greeting  as  the  President  whirled  around 
through  the  room.  The  people  grabbed  at  his 
hand  as  it  was  extended,  or  rather,  shot  out  at 
them. 

"  Hello,  Senator  Proctor,  how  are  you  ?  I 
want  to  see  you  in  my  office  directly.  Please 
wait  a  little  while  until  I  am  through  with  Mr. 
White,  then  come  in.  You  know  I  am  depend- 
ing on  you  as  one  of  my  main  props." 

The  rugged  Vermont  statesman  said  he  would 
wait,  and  on  the  President  dashed  to  another 
bunch  of  visitors.  In  three  or  four  minutes  he 
had  squeezed  twenty  or  more  hands,  and  the 
second  crowd  of  the  day  was  disposed  of.  With 
the  next  crowd  there  came  striding  in  a  hand- 
some rosy-cheeked  lad,  gaily  dressed  in  a  mili- 
tary uniform  that  was  decorated  with  all  the 
distinguishing  colors  of  the  various  arms  of  the 


132        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

Army  and  insignia  of  the  various  grades  of  the 
Navy.  Into  a  large  upholstered  chair  this  youth 
plumped  his  roly-poly  form  near  the  door  leading 
to  the  President's  office.  The  crowd  thickened 
so  fast  that  the  doorkeeper  refused  to  let  any 
more  people  in  till  the  congestion  in  the  room 
was  relieved.  Again  the  President  rushed  into 
the  room,  and  bumped  into  the  youth  in  the 
chair. 

"  Ah,  so  this  is  Master ,  is  it  ?  "  Mr. 

Roosevelt  inquired  as  he  seized  the  right  hand  of 
the  lad.  "  Well,  I  received  your  telegram  from 
Baltimore  last  night  telling  me  that  you  would 
call  on  me  to-day.  I  am  delighted  to  see  you, 
sir  —  delighted  to  see  you." 

"  Mr.  President,"  the  boy  began,  in  a  deter- 
mined effort  to  deliver  his  carefully  prepared 
speech,  "  I  am  traveling  — " 

"  Yes,  yes,"  interrupted  the  President.  "  I 
know  you  are,  and  I  am  glad  to  see  you.  Mr. 
Cortelyou  will  look  after  you." 

As  the  President  was  surrounded  by  the  eddy- 
ing crowd  the  brave  little  boy,  twelve  years  old, 
continued  his  speech  thus : 

"  I  am  traveling  salesman  for  a  typewriter. 
My  father  was  a  miner  in  Pennsylvania,  and 
when  he  died  a  few  months  ago  he  left  my 
mother  a  large  family  of  children,  but  no  prop- 
erty. I  am  making  the  living  for  the  family, 
and  I  have  brought  you  as  a  Thanksgiving  pres- 
ent one  of  my  typewriters.  Accept  it,  Mr.  Presi- 
dent and  make  my  mother's  heart  glad.  All 
our  family  think  you  are  the  greatest  man  that 
was  ever  President  of  the  United  States." 


CONTACT  WITH  THE  PEOPLE  133 

There  was  a  kind,  gentle,  fatherly  tone  in  the 
President's  voice  as  he  held  both  the  hands  of 
this  courageous  American  fighting  his  own  way, 
and  spoke  some  encouraging  words. 

"  God  bless  you,"  said  the  President  a  little 
while  later,  as  he  encountered  the  lad  in  an- 
other part  of  the  room,  and  a  merry-faced  old 
lady  who  was  waiting  her  turn  to  greet  the 
President  wiped  the  tears  from  her  eyes 
that  came  unbidden  as  she  heard  the  bene- 
diction. 

It  was  now  noon,  and  the  reception-room  had 
been  filled  and  emptied  five  times.  For  an  hour 
and  a  half  longer  the  crowd  continued  to  pour 
in.  A  pompous  man  accompanied  by  a  party  of 
women  grabbed  the  President's  hand  and  began 
to  say,  "  Mr.  President,  we  could  not  leave 
Washington  without  calling  to  pay  our  respects. 
I  sat  on  the  stand  when  you  spoke  in  my  town 
in  Colorado  last  year,  and  I  told  the  ladies  you 
would  remember  me." 

"  Certainly,  certainly,"  assented  Mr.  Roosevelt, 
and  before  the  women  finished  their  speeches  of 
congratulations  he  landed  in  an  opposite  corner 
of  the  room,  where  a  man  wished  to  impress 
on  him  the  desirability  of  "  speaking  out  in 
your  message  in  no  uncertain  tone  on  the  cur- 
rency question." 

"  I  believe  my  message  will  please  you  on 
that  point,"  Mr.  Roosevelt  assured  the  man. 
"  Here,  I'll  read  you  what  I  have  written  on 
that  topic." 

And  the  President,  in  his  usual  way,  read  that 
part  of  his  message,  to  the  great  delight  of  his 


134        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

listener,  who  signified  his  agreement  by  vigorous 
nods  of  his  head. 

This  was  at  the  beginning  of  his  administra- 
tion. It  was  pretty  generally  admitted  then  that 
he  had  not  the  composure  and  dignity  which 
characterizes  the  manner  of  older  men  who  have 
risen  to  high  place  more  gradually.  But  as 
the  months  passed  he  acquired  greater  poise,  he 
spoke  less  loudly  in  greeting  his  callers,  and 
showed  more  appreciation  of  the  sensibilities  of 
those  asking  favors.  The  superficial  evidences 
of  nervousness  disappeared.  His  great  respon- 
sibilities sobered  him  and  he  began  to  impress 
his  callers  as  a  man  of  firm  will  and  steady 
mental  poise.  Although  there  had  been  a  change 
in  his  manner  he  still  dealt  frankly  and  insisted 
that  others  should  be  frank  with  him,  just  as  in 
the  beginning. 

This  insistence  on  frankness  brought  confusion 
to  more  than  one  man  who  neglected  to  tell  him 
the  whole  truth.  On  one  occasion  he  rescinded 
the  appointment  of  a  United  States  Marshal  be- 
cause the  man  had  misled  him  as  to  his  record. 
The  man  had  the  reputation  of  being  a  drunkard 
and  broiler,  and  Senator  Hoar  opposed  him. 
When  the  Senator  protested  the  President  told 
him  that  the  man  had  been  one  of  the  bravest 
soldiers  in  his  regiment,  and  that  he  had  re- 
formed. Later  Senator  Hoar  learned  that  the 
man  had  served  a  term  in  prison  for  horse- 
stealing,  and  went  to  the  White  House  to  make 
further  protest. 

"  He  didn't  tell  me  that,"  said  the  President. 
"  I'll  telegraph  him  about  it." 


CONTACT  WITH  THE  PEOPLE  135 

When  the  reply  came  it  was  that  the  imprison- 
ment happened  fifteen  years  before  and  the  man 
said  he  thought  it  had  been  forgotten. 

Then  the  President  sent  word  to  him :  "  If 
you  had  told  me  that  in  the  first  place  it  would 
have  been  all  right;  but  you  lied  to  me  and  that 
settles .  it." 

In  the  preparation  of  his  first  message  to 
Congress,  sections  of  which  we  have  seen  him 
reading  to  his  callers,  he  sought  the  assistance 
and  advice  of  the  men  who  were  familiar  with 
the  subjects  he  intended  to  discuss. 

"  Before  he  finished  it,"  remarked  one  Sena- 
tor, "  he  consulted  every  one  in  whose  judg- 
ment he  had  confidence.  He  even  did  me  the 
honor  to  summon  me  here  from  my  home  in  the 
West  for  consultation.  When  I  arrived  I  found 
him  so  busy  he  was  compelled  to  ask  me  to  dic- 
tate to  a  stenographer  my  views  on  certain  ques- 
tions of  pressing  importance,  and  send  them  to 
him  in  that  shape." 

This  has  been  his  practice,  to  take  no  impor- 
tant action  without  previous  consultation  with 
the  people  best  informed  on  the  matter  involved. 
Before  he  took  the  unprecedented  course  of  or- 
dering an  investigation  into  the  grievances  of 
the  striking  coal-miners  in  1903,  he  had  many 
conferences  with  people  representing  both  sides 
of  the  controversy.  His  final  determination  to 
recognize  the  Panama  revolutionists  in  the 
autumn  of  the  same  year  was  not  reached  till 
he  had  taken  the  advice  of  the  men  who  under- 
stood the  situation  on  the  Isthmus.  But  when 
he  did  act  he  took  all  the  responsibility  him- 


136        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

self,  and  he  was  naturally  pleased  when  his 
course  was  approved  by  those  with  whom  he 
talked. 

Mr.  William  C.  Adamson,  of  Georgia,  was  one 
of  the  callers  at  the  White  House  on  the  day 
after  the  republic  of  Panama  was  recognized 
by  the  United  States. 

"  Congressman,"  said  the  President,  shaking 
his  hand,  "  I  am  always  glad  to  see  you,  but 
especially  so  at  this  time." 

"  Mr.  President,"  replied  the  Congressman,  "  I 
am  glad  to  meet  you  and  see  that  you  are  well 
and  buoyant.  I  called  thinking  I  had  business, 
but  found  that  it  was  not  ready  to  present  to 
you,  so  I  determined  to  wait,  and  in  the  language 
of  Br'er  Rabbit,  '  pass  the  time  o'  day  wid  you/ 
before  leaving." 

"Speaking  of  Br'er  Rabbit,"  said  the  Presi- 
dent, "  that  Jack  rabbit  on  the  Isthmus  jumped 
one  time  too  many  for  his  good." 

"  I  imagine  the  surprise  and  consternation  of 
that  rabbit,"  Mr.  Adamson  rejoined,  "  when, 
after  jumping  for  a  race  down  the  Isthmus,  he 
found  himself  confronted  by  a  President  who 
was  not  too  bow-legged  to  head  him  in  the  lane." 

The  President  enjoyed  this  metaphorical  com- 
pliment so  much  that  he  repeated  it  to  a  num- 
ber of  his  callers. 

After  taking  the  advice  of  various  people,  it 
usually  happened  that  he  followed  his  own  judg- 
ment. Elihu  Root,  then  Secretary  of  War,  called 
attention  to  the  dominating  will  of  the  Presi- 
dent in  the  spring  of  1903  at  a  dinner  in  his 
honor.  Mr.  Root  was  talking  about  the  Man- 


CONTACT  WITH  THE  PEOPLE  137 

churian  question  and  the  possible  effect  of  Rus- 
sian control  of  the  territory  on  the  course  of 
the  United  States  in  maintaining  its  right  in  the 
East. 

"  We  must  never  forget,  gentlemen,"  said  he, 
"  that  the  War  Department  is  only  an  emer- 
gency bureau,  and  that  the  controlling  portfolio 
in  the  present  administration  is  held  by  the 
Secretary  of  Peace,  Theodore  Roosevelt." 

It  was  only  a  few  weeks  later  that  Mr.  Roose- 
velt at  a  public  dinner  in  Charlottesville,  Vir- 
ginia, set  forth  his  own  views  of  the  proper 
attitude  of  the  United  States  in  its  foreign  re- 
lations. 

"  I  want  the  United  States  to  conduct  itself 
in  foreign  affairs,"  said  he,  "  as  you  of  Vir- 
ginia believe  a  private  gentleman  should  con- 
duct himself  among  his  fellows.  I  ask  that  we 
handle  ourselves  with  a  view  never  to  wrong 
the  weak  and  never  to  submit  to  injury  from  the 
strong. 

"  Another  thing :  A  gentleman  does  not  boast, 
bluster,  bully ;  he  does  not  insult  others.  I  wish 
our  country  always  to  behave  with  consideration 
for  others ;  never  to  speak  in  a  manner  that  is 
insulting  or  might  wound  the  susceptibilities  of 
any  foreign  nation  never  to  threaten,  never  to 
boast,  but  when  we  feel  that  our  interest  and  our 
honor  demand  that  as  a  nation  we  take  a  certain 
position,  to  take  that  position  and  then  make 
it  good. 

"  Speaking  to  the  younger  gentlemen  present, 
I  wish  to  state  that  I  myself  was  once  young, 
and  in  those  days  I  lived  in  the  cow  country 


138        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

in  the  West,  and  we  had  a  proverb  running, 
'  Don't  draw  unless  you  mean  to  shoot.'  It  was 
a  middling  good  proverb,  and  it  applies  just 
as  much  in  international  as  in  private  affairs. 

"  I  do  not  wish  us  ever  as  a  nation  to  take  a 
position  from  which  we  have  to  retreat.  Do  not 
let  us  assume  any  position  unless  we  are  prepared 
to  say  that  we  have  got  to  keep  it.  As  a  nation 
we  must  hereafter  play  a  big  part  in  the  world. 
It  is  not  open  to  us  to  decide  whether  the  part 
we  play,  we  of  the  United  States,  shall  be  great 
or  small.  That  has  been  decided  for  us  by  the 
course  of  events.  A  small  nation  can  honorably 
play  a  small  part;  a  great  nation,  no.  A  great 
nation  must  play  a  great  part.  All  it  can  decide 
is  whether  it  will  play  that  great  part  well  or 
ill.  I  know  you  too  well,  my  fellow-country- 
men, to  have  any  doubt  as  to  what  your  decision 
will  be." 

It  was  in  explanation  of  his  retirement  from 
the  Cabinet  to  accept  the  senatorship  from  Penn- 
sylvania that  Attorney-General  Knox  said  in  the 
summer  of  1904 : 

"  I  called  up  President  Roosevelt  over  the 
long-distance  telephone  and  laid  the  situation 
before  him,  asking  his  advice.  The  President, 
after  listening  to  me,  said  that  as  Pennsylvania 
is  such  an  overwhelming  Republican  State,  and 
as  this  appointment  might  open  to  me  a  long 
term  of  public  service  and  at  the  same  time  it 
would  tend  to  promote  harmony  among  the  fac- 
tions of  the  party  in  the  State,  he  thought  it 
was  my  duty  to  accept  the  appointment." 

"  But  don't  you  believe  that  your  leaving  the 


CONTACT  WITH  THE  PEOPLE  139 

Cabinet  at  this  time  will  seriously  interfere  with 
President  Roosevelt's  plans  for  curbing  the 
trusts  ?  "  Mr.  Knox  was  asked. 

"  I  do  not,"  was  the  reply.  "  My  leaving 
the  Cabinet  can  have  no  effect  upon  the  con- 
tinuance of  the  anti -trust  policy  of  the  Admin- 
istration." 

Mr.  Roosevelt's  attitude  toward  his  nomination 
for  the  Presidency  and  his  remarks  on  that 
subject  were  as  unconventional  as  many  of  his 
other  acts.  In  May,  1903,  when  the  party  in 
Ohio  was  divided  on  the  question  of  indorsing 
him,  and  Senator  Hanna  was  urging  that  the 
indorsement  could  as  well  be  given  the  next 
year,  Mr.  Roosevelt's  secretary  issued  this  state- 
ment : 

"  In  speaking  of  the  sudden  political  develop- 
ments in  Ohio  the  President  this  afternoon  said: 
'  I  have  not  asked  any  man  for  his  support.  I 
have  had  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  raising 
the  issue  of  my  indorsement.  Sooner  or  later 
it  was  bound  to  arise,  and  inasmuch  as  it  has 
now  arisen,  of  course  those  who  favor  my  ad- 
ministration and  my  nomination  will  indorse,  and 
those  who  do  not,  oppose.' " 

He  was  not  ashamed  of  his  ambitions,  neither 
did  he  hesitate  to  express  a  high  opinion  of  the 
dignity  of  public  service.  The  last  sentences 
from  an  address  delivered  to  the  students  of  the 
University  of  California  bear  on  this  subject. 
He  was  talking  about  the  service  that  Leonard 
Wood,  William  H.  Taft,  the  graduates  of  the 
Naval  and  Military  academies,  and  others  had 
done. 


MO        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

"  Taft  and  Wood  and  their  fellows,"  said  he, 
"  are  spending,  or  have  spent,  the  best  years 
of  their  prime  in  doing  a  work  which  means 
to  them  a  pecuniary  loss  at  the  best,  a  bare 
livelihood  while  they  are  doing  it,  and  are  doing 
it  gladly  because  they  realize  the  truth  that  the 
highest  privilege  that  can  be  given  to  any  man 
is  the  privilege  of  serving  his  country,  his  fellow- 
Americans." 

CHAPTER  IX 

PRESIDENT   BY  THE  CALL  OF  THE   NATION 

PRESIDENT  ROOSEVELT'S  first  term  was  due  to 
the  tragic  accident  of  McKinley's  death,  and 
not  to  any  expression  of  the  people's  wish  for 
himself.  He  felt  this  situation  keenly,  and  faith- 
ful as  he  was  in  carrying  out  the  policies  of  his 
chosen  predecessor,  as  he  had  promised,  he  felt 
the  urge  of  his  own  conceptions  of  the  coun- 
try's needs  and  the  ways  to  meet  them.  Natu- 
rally he  desired  a  renomination  on  his  own 
merits,  that  he  might  know  the  Nation's  opinion 
of  his  course,  and  receive  if  possible  a  com- 
mission to  serve  the  people  in  his  own  way. 

When  his  party  nominated  him  for  the  Presi- 
dency in  the  summer  of  1904  all  precedents  were 
broken.  No  previous  President  who  had  entered 
the  high  office  through  the  Vice-Presidency  after 
the  death  of  the  President  was  ever  before  nom- 
inated to  succeed  himself.  Indeed,  Mr.  Roose- 
velt's first  participation  in  a  national  conven- 
tion was  marked  by  his  earnest  efforts  to  pre- 


CALLED  BY  THE  NATION  141 

vent  such  a  President  from  receiving  the  nomina- 
tion. But  when  he  became  a  candidate  no  one 
was  named  in  opposition  to  him  in  the  con- 
vention, and  he  was  the  unanimous  choice  of 
the  delegates. 

He  took  no  public  part  in  the  campaign  for 
his  election,  till  toward  its  close,  when  charges 
affecting  his  personal  honor  were  made.  Then 
he  issued  a  long  statement,  in  the  course  of 
which  he  declared  that  the  charges  that  he  or  his 
campaign  committee  were  blackmailing  corpora- 
tions and  were  promising  "  to  take  care  of  "  the 
corporations  which  contributed  to  the  fund  to 
secure  his  election  were  "  unqualifiedly  and 
atrociously  false,"  and  concluded:  "If  elected 
I  shall  go  into  the  Presidency  unhampered  by 
any  pledge,  promise,  or  understanding  of  any 
kind,  sort,  or  description,  save  my  promise,  made 
openly  to  the  American  people,  that  so  far  as 
in  my  power  lies  I  shall  see  to  it  that  every  man 
has  a  square  deal,  no  less  and  no  more." 

Several  weeks  before  election,  says  George 
William  Douglas,  a  prominent  Republican  leader 
who  believed  that  he  would  win,  implored  him 
not  to  commit  himself  against  the  acceptance 
of  a  third  term  until  the  arguments  in  its  favor 
could  be  presented.  Mr.  Roosevelt,  turning  to 
Attorney-General  Moody,  who  was  present,  re- 
marked : 

"  I  cannot  with  propriety  make  any  public 
statement  now,  before  I  am  elected  for  a  second 
term,  but  at  the  very  earliest  moment  I  shall 
smash  that  idea  with  all  the  energy  I  can  com- 
mand." 


142        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

Secretary  Moody  indorsed  this  plan,  and  Mr. 
Roosevelt  did  not  wait  longer  than  was  necessary 
to  "  smash  the  idea "  that  he  was  a  candidate 
for  renomination  in  1908,  for  at  half -past  ten 
o'clock  on  the  night  of  the  election,  when  the 
result  was  no  longer  in  doubt,  he  issued  this 
statement : 

"  I  am  deeply  sensible  of  the  honor  done  me 
by  the  American  people  in  thus  expressing  their 
confidence  in  what  I  have  done  and  have  tried 
to  do.  I  appreciate  to  the  full  the  solemn  re- 
sponsibility this  confidence  imposes  upon  me,  and 
I  shall  do  all  that  in  my  power  lies  not  to  for- 
feit it.  On  the  4th  of  March  next  I  shall  have 
served  three  and  a  half  years,  and  this  three 
and  a  half  years  constitute  my  first  term.  The 
wise  custom  which  limits  the  President  to  two 
terms  regards  the  substance  and  not  the  form, 
and  under  no  circumstances  will  I  be  a  candi- 
date for,  or  accept,  another  nomination."  When 
this  statement  was  recalled  during  the  campaign 
of  1912,  controversy  raged  hot  between  those 
who  claimed  that  he  was  violating  his  pledge  of 
1904  and  those  who  insisted  that  he  had  been 
true  to  it  when  he  resisted  the  pressure  brought 
upon  him  to  accept  a  renomination  in  1908.  It 
seemed  to  be  Mr.  Roosevelt's  intention  to  pledge 
himself  against  such  a  renomination,  while  in  the 
White  House,  rather  than  against  any  nomina- 
tion from  private  life  in  future  years.  He 
wished  his  administration  to  be  free  from  suspi- 
cion of  political  activity  in  his  behalf. 

He  received  the  largest  popular  majority  ever 
given  to  any  candidate,  and  even  carried  Mis- 


CALLED  BY  THE  NATION  143 

souri,  which  had  been  Democratic  for  more  than 
thirty  years.  He  was  pleased,  as  well  he  might 
be,  though  he  was  not  surprised.  They  say 
that  he  was  one  of  the  calmest  persons  in  the 
White  House  on  the  evening  of  the  election 
while  the  returns  were  coming  in. 

A  little  more  than  two  weeks  after  the  elec- 
tion he  visited  the  Louisiana  Purchase  Expo- 
sition in  St.  Louis,  making  several  brief  speeches 
on  the  way.  A  large  crowd  gathered  to  greet 
him  as  he  passed  through  Indianapolis.  He 
thanked  them  for  their  presence  and  said  he 
appreciated  it  deeply.  Then  an  enthusiastic  man 
in  the  crowd,  desiring  to  attract  attention  to 
the  large  Roosevelt  majority  in  Ohio,  called  out: 

"  What  is  the  matter  with  Ohio  ?  " 

"  Not  a  thing,"  said  the  President,  "  and  I 
want  to  tell  you  that  there  were  a  lot  of  other 
good  ones."  Then  with  a  beaming  smile  he 
leaned  over  the  rail  on  the  car  platform  and  in- 
quired, "What  is  the  matter  with  Missouri?" 

And  the  crowd  yelled  its  appreciation  of  the 
situation.  When  he  reached  St.  Louis  a  dinner 
in  his  honor  was  given  by  the  officers  of  the 
Fair,  at  which  he  said : 

"  I  was  lately  reading  a  speech  of  Lincoln 
after  his  re-election.  I  cannot  quote  it  verbatim, 
but  he  says,  '  As  long  as  I  have  been  in  this 
office  I  have  never  intentionally  planted  a  thorn 
in  any  man's  bosom.  I  am  gratified  that  my 
countrymen  have  seen  fit  to  continue  me  in  of- 
fice, but  it  does  not  satisfy  me  that  any  one  has 
suffered  by  the  result.'  I  feel  that  I  should 
approach  my  duties  in  that  spirit.  A  man  should 


144        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

have  no  sense  of  elation  in  view  of  the  infinite 
responsibility  and  of  the  weight  of  duty  he  owes 
to  his  fellow-citizens.  He  should  realize  that 
whether  there  is  a  difference  before  election,  the 
President  is  President  of  all  the  people,  of  every 
section,  socially  and  industrially  —  no  West,  or 
North,  or  East,  or  South  —  and  he  is  bound 
'  with  malice  toward  none  and  charity  to  all ' 
to  strive  to  conduct  himself  toward  his  duties 
as  they  arise  so  that  the  result  may  be  for  the 
good  of  the  common  country." 

No  detailed  account  of  the  public  measures 
and  achievements  of  President  Roosevelt's  ad- 
ministration can  properly  be  given  here,  al- 
though some  reference  to  the  foreign  relations 
of  the  United  States  during  that  time  is  pe- 
culiarly timely.  The  prevailing  conception  of  a 
"  Fighting  Roosevelt "  has  almost  caused  the 
other  side  of  his  character  to  be  forgotten.  His 
record  as  a  conciliator  and  maker  of  peace  was 
far  more  important  and  considerable  during  his 
seven  and  a  half  years  as  President  than  hfe 
acts  of  belligerency.  The  New  York  Tribune 
has  so  well  summarized  the  major  events  of  his 
dealings  with  foreign  nations,  largely  in  the 
course  of  his  second  term,  after  the  signing  of 
peace  between  Japan  and  Russia,  that  this  sum- 
mary is  quoted  here: 

When  he  came  into  the  Presidency  he  fell  heir 
to  the  ancient  controversy  over  the  rights  of 
'American  fishermen  in  Canadian  and  Newfound- 
land waters,  dating  almost  from  the  treaty  of 
1818.  Mr.  Roosevelt  induced  England  to  sub- 
mit the  difficulty  to  The  Hague. 


CALLED  BY  THE  NATION  145 

Determined,  if  possible,  to  end  the  historic 
strife  among  the  countries  of  Central  America, 
he  invited  representatives  of  the  five  republics 
to  the  peace  conference  in  Washington,  in  1907, 
which  resulted  in  a  joint  arbitral  tribunal  which 
has  done  something,  at  least,  for  peace  in  that 
part  of  the  world. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  Russo-Japanese  War 
the  United  States  directed  to  all  the  great  pow- 
ers a  note  by  which  it  sought  to  commit  them 
to  the  preservation  of  the  administrative  entity 
of  China.  Most  of  the  powers  responded  cor- 
dially, and  thus  were  established  the  friendly  re- 
lations with  China  which  went  far  to  offset  the 
sensitiveness  resulting  from  the  exclusion  of 
Chinese  .laborers  from  the  United  States.  In 
1908  Mr.  Roosevelt  created  another  demand 
on  the  gratitude  of  China  by  remitting  some- 
thing over  $10,000,000  indemnity  due  on  account 
of  the  Boxer  outbreak.  Later  he  induced  Japan 
to  subscribe  to  the  note  guaranteeing  the  in- 
tegrity of  China. 

The  history  of  the  relations  of  the  United 
States  and  Japan  during  the  Roosevelt  Admin- 
istration furnishes  a  striking  illustration  of  his 
firm  but  conciliatory  methods.  First  he  won  the 
gratitude  and  confidence  of  that  country  by  the 
settlement  of  the  war  with  Russia.  That  paved 
the  way  for  the  settlement  of  the  difficult  and 
delicate  problem  of  the  rapidly  increasing  in- 
flux of  Japanese  labor  to  this  country.  The 
action  of  the  San  Francisco  school  board  in 
excluding  Japanese  pupils  from  the  city  schools 
menaced  the  friendly  relations  between  the  two 


146        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

countries,  and  Mr.  Roosevelt  was  called  upon 
to  exercise  the  utmost  diplomacy  to  avert  serious 
friction.  He  induced  the  San  Francisco  au- 
thorities to  rescind  the  order  and  then  took  diplo- 
matic steps  to  reduce  the  volume  of  Japanese 
immigration.  By  this  means  giant  strides  were 
made  toward  the  successful  solution  of  the  prob- 
lem. 

President  Roosevelt  inherited  relations  with 
Germany  which  were  marred  by  misunderstand- 
ing and  distrust  growing  out  of  the  Manila  Bay 
incident,  the  precipitate  purchase  by  Germany 
of  the  Caroline  and  Ladrone  islands  and  the 
unpleasant  ending  of  the  joint  control  of  Samoa. 
Germany,  dissatisfied  with  the  tariff  regulations 
of  this  country,  contemplated  placing  a  prac- 
tically prohibitive  duty  on  imports  from  the 
United  States,  and  there  was  a  serious  lack  of 
cordiality  between  the  two  nations.  The  first 
step  taken  by  the  Roosevelt  administration  was 
the  invitation  extended  to  Prince  Henry,  brother 
of  the  Emperor,  to  visit  the  United  States.  It 
was  promptly  accepted  and  the  cordial  reception 
of  the  royal  sailor  proved  deeply  gratifying  to 
the  German  people.  Then  the  President's  eld- 
est daughter,  now  Mrs.  Longworth,  accepted  an 
invitation  to  name  the  Emperor's  yacht,  and 
another  step  in  the  restoration  of  cordial  rela- 
tions was  recorded.  Finally  the  President  so 
altered  the  administration  of  the  tariff  law  as  in 
large  part  to  avert  friction  which  had  hitherto 
existed. 

The  settlement  of  the  Alaskan  boundary  and 
the  Newfoundland  fisheries  questions,  which  had 


CALLED  BY  THE  NATION  147 

so  long  vexed  the  diplomats  of  both  Great  Brit- 
ain and  the  United  States,  was  successfully  ac- 
complished, and  other  negotiations  with  Great 
Britain  of  only  secondary  importance  were  car- 
ried to  a  satisfactory  conclusion.  Conflicts  be- 
tween the  fishermen  and  the  authorities  of  the 
respective  countries  were  rendered  almost  im- 
possible by  a  treaty  providing  for  the  demarca- 
tion of  the  boundaries  of  the  United  States  and 
Canada,  while  the  same  convention  provides  also 
for  the  marking  of  land  boundaries,  thus  elimi- 
nating friction  growing  out  of  doubt  as  to  the 
exact  location  of  the  boundary  lines.  Problems 
concerning  the  rights  of  the  citizens  of  Canada 
and  the  United  States  to  the  use  of  the  waters 
of  Niagara  for  power  purposes  were  settled  by 
several  protocols,  and  all  similar  questions  af- 
fecting boundary  waters  were  disposed  of  in  a 
treaty  signed  by  Secretary  Root.  When  Mr. 
Roosevelt's  term  expired,  every  question  at  issue 
with  Great  Britain  had  been  settled  by  treaty 
except  the  satisfaction  of  certain  pecuniary 
claims,  a  treaty  dealing  with  which  had  already 
been  drafted. 

When,  in  1906,  conflict  threatened  between 
Germany  and  France  over  the  government  of 
Morocco,  a  joint  conference  of  powers  signatory 
to  the  treaty  of  Morocco  was  called  to  meet 
at  Algeciras,  and  President  Roosevelt  sent  dele- 
gates, who  played  an  important  part  in  the  ne- 
gotiations, their  disinterested  position  enabling 
them  to  go  far  in  the  settlement  of  difficulties 
presented  to  the  conference.  There  was  much 
protest  from  Democratic  members  of  the  Senate 


148        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

at  the  course  of  the  President,  but  the  treaty 
ratifying  the  part  played  by  the  United  States 
in  this  international  problem  was  approved  by 
the  Senate  when  it  ratified,  on  December  12, 
1906,  the  Algeciras  treaty. 

Almost  throughout  President  Roosevelt's  ad- 
ministration, the  course  of  Venezuela,  conducted 
by  the  dictator  Castro,  proved  an  occasion  of 
nigh  intolerable  irritation ;  but  although  it  finally 
became  necessary  to  break  off  all  diplomatic  rela- 
tions with  that  republic,  the  course  of  the  Ad- 
ministration was  tolerant  to  the  last  degree. 
With  surprising  forbearance,  the  United  States 
endured  treatment  which  from  a  more  responsi- 
ble power,  must  have  been  resented  as  insult- 
ing, and  rested  content  in  the  conviction  that 
Castro's  methods  would  ultimately  destroy  his 
dictatorship. 

The  Roosevelt  administration  brought  about 
greatly  increased  cordiality  in  the  relations  be- 
tween this  country  and  all  the  republics  of  South 
America.  In  1907  the  Secretary  of  State,  Elihu 
Root,  made  a  trip  around  South  America,  visit- 
ing the  capitals  of  each  state  and  explaining  the 
good  wishes  and  unselfish  purposes  of  this  coun- 
try. Remarkable  success  attended  the  trip,  and 
the  results  were  far-reaching  in  their  promotion 
of  a  clearer  understanding  and  a  greater  faith  in 
the  disinterested  friendship  of  the  United  States. 

Of  far  reaching  results  upon  the  world  was 
the  Roosevelt  inception  and  perfection,  during 
his  second  term,  of  a  plan  to  join  the  Atlantic 
and  Pacific  by  means  of  the  Panama  Canal. 
In  1906  the  Spooner  bill  was  passed,  thereby  giv- 


CALLED  BY  THE  NATION  149 

ing  the  President  the  authority  to  buy  the  old 
French  Panama  Canal  Company,  lay  out  a  water 
route  across  the  isthmus,  reorganize  a  canal  com- 
mission and  begin  to  build.  The  work  meant 
not  only  a  battle  against  mountainous  engineer- 
ing problems  but  notable  medical  sanitary  prob- 
lems that  till  then  had  defied  the  world.  All  of 
these  difficulties  were  met  triumphantly,  and  the 
Panama  Canal  is  a  monument  that  will  not  per- 
ish. 

Only  two  quasi-belligerent  acts  are  to  be  re- 
corded of  the  Roosevelt  administration.  An 
American  citizen,  one  Ion  Perdicaris,  having  been 
taken  captive  by  the  bandit  Raisuli  in  Morocco  in 
1904,  the  President,  as  previously  has  been  men- 
tioned, cabled  the  American  representative  to  se- 
cure "  Perdicaris  alive  or  Raisuli  dead."  Perdi- 
caris was  promptly  delivered  to  the  American  au- 
thorities, and  respect  for  this  country  was  greatly 
increased  in  Northern  Africa.  In  the  same  year, 
the  evasive  tactics  of  Turkey  having  exhausted 
the  patience  of  the  Department  of  State,  a  fleet 
was  sent  to  Smyrna.  The  presence  of  the  fleet 
accomplished  every  purpose. 

In  no  respect  did  Roosevelt  accomplish  more 
striking  results  in  carrying  out  the  McKinley 
policies  to  which  he  had  pledged  himself,  says 
the  New  York  Tribune,  than  in  the  case  of  Cuba. 
He  found  Cuba  still  under  the  military  dictator- 
ship rendered  necessary  by  the  war  with  Spain. 
By  the  end  of  May,  1902,  eight  months  after 
Mr.  Roosevelt  took  the  oath  of  office,  a  national 
election  had  been  held,  and  Estrada  Palma  in- 
augurated as  the  first  President  of  Cuba.  By 


ISO        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

September,  1906,  revolution  and  anarchy  threat- 
ened to  engulf  the  new  republic.  William  H. 
Taft,  then  Secretary  of  War,  was  sent  to  the 
island,  and  President  Balma  resigned.  A  new 
provisional  government,  with  Charles  E.  Magoon 
as  its  head,  was  set  up.  In  1908  another  na- 
tional election  was  held,  and  on  January  28,  1909, 
Jose  Miguel  Gomez  was  inaugurated  as  the  sec- 
ond president  of  the  republic. 

Another  feature  of  the  McKinley  policies  to 
which  Mr.  Roosevelt  stood  pledged  was  the  ne- 
gotiation of  a  reciprocity  treaty  with  Cuba.  All 
the  powers  of  protected  interests  were  exerted  to 
defeat  him,  but  in  1903  he  accomplished  the 
seemingly  impossible.  As  a  result  of  that  treaty, 
Cuban  exports  to  the  United  States  grew  from 
$63,000,000  in  1903  to  $203,164,414  in  1915,  and 
imports  to  Cuba  increased  from  $22,000,000  in 
the  former  year  to  approximately  $104,723,100 
in  the  latter. 

In  the  administration  of  the  Phillippine  Islands 
there  was  not  only  a  notable  increase  of  pros- 
perity, but  the  policy  of  extending  to  the  Filipinos 
a  share  of  self-government  as  fast  as  they  were 
capable  of  exercising  it  was  consistently  pur- 
sued, and  in  1907  the  first  Philippine  Assembly 
was  called  to  order  by  Secretary  Taft.  The 
trade  of  the  archipelago  more  than  doubled  dur- 
ing the  Roosevelt  administration,  agricultural 
prosperity  was  restored,  and  peace  and  content- 
ment established  throughout  the  islands. 

Probably  no  more  fair  nor  justly  appreciative 
estimate  of  Mr.  Roosevelt's  services  as  Presi- 
dent has  been  written  than  that  which  his  friend 


CALLED  BY  THE  NATION  151 

Lawrence  F.  Abbott  prepared  for  the  new  "  Ency- 
clopaedia Britannica."  It  is  more  satisfactory  to 
quote  such  a  statement  than  to  attempt  to  give 
in  a  single  chapter  a  detailed  record  of  the  seven 
and  a  half  years'  work  of  the  great  President: 

"  Mr.  Roosevelt  entered  the  Presidency  defi- 
nitely committed  to  two  principles  which  pro- 
foundly affected  his  course  as  Chief  Executive 
of  the  United  States.  He  had  a  well  wrought 
out  belief  in  centralized  authority  in  govern- 
ment and  a  passionate  hatred  of  political  and 
commercial  corruption.  He  believed  the  United 
States  to  be  a  unified  republic,  a  sovereign  na- 
tion, and  not  a  federation  of  independent  States 
united  only  for  mutual  benefit  and  protection. 
He  not  only  hated  corruption  per  se,  but  he 
clearly  saw  that  as  efficiency  has  a  greater  power 
for  evil  in  a  centralized  government.  He  un-1 
derstood  that  political  materialism,  selfishness 
and  corruption  in  Federal  administration  afford 
the  strongest  possible  argument  for  those  who 
advocate  strengthening  the  independent  power  of 
the  separate  States  at  the  expense  of  nationalism. 
At  the  very  outset  of  his  administration  he  there- 
fore set  himself  to  work,  not  only  to  improve 
the  personnel  of  the  Government  service,  but 
by  exhortations  in  his  messages  and  public 
speeches  to  arouse  a  sense  of  civic  responsibility 
both  among  office  holders  and  among  all  the 
citizens. 

"  His  official  messages  to  Congress,  probably 
more  frequent,  certainly  much  longer,  than  those 
of  any  of  his  predecessors,  were  quite  as  often 
treatises  on  the  moral  principles  of  government 


152        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

as  they  were  recommendations  of  specific  legis- 
lative or  administrative  policies.  The  effect  of 
his  exhortations,  as  well  as  his  personal  charac- 
ter and  public  acts,  upon  the  standard  and  spirit 
of  official  life  in  the  United  States  was  a  pro- 
nounced one  in  attracting  to  the  Federal  service 
a  group  of  men  who  took  up  their  work  of 
public  office  with  the  same  spirit  of  enthusiasm 
and  self-sacrifice  that  actuates  the  military  vol- 
unteer in  time  of  war.  No  American  Presi- 
dent has  done  so  much  to  discredit  and  destroy 
the  old  Jacksonian  theory  of  party  government 
that  '  to  the  victors  belong  the  spoils '  and  to 
create  confidence  in  the  practical  success  as  well 
as  the  moral  desirability  of  a  system  of  appoint- 
ments to  office  which  rests  upon  efficiency  and 
merit  only.  Mr.  Roosevelt  not  only  attacked 
dishonesty  in  public  affairs  but  in  private  business 
as  well,  asserting  that  malefactors  of  great 
wealth  endeavor  to  control  legislation  so  as  to 
increase  the  profits  of  monopolies  or  trusts,  and 
that  to  prevent  such  control  it  is  necessary  to  ex- 
tend the  powers  of  the  Federal  Government. 

"  In  carrying  out  this  policy  of  government 
regulations  and  supervision  of  corporations  he 
became  involved  in  a  great  struggle  with  the 
powerful  financial  interests  whose  profits  were 
threatened,  and  with  those  legislators  who  sin- 
cerely believed  that  government  should  solely 
concern  itself  with  protecting  life  and  property, 
and  should  leave  questions  of  individual  and 
social  relations  in  trade  and  finance  to  be  settled 
by  the  operation  of  so-called  natural  economic 
laws.  In  the  struggle,  although  he  was  bitterly 


CALLED  BY  THE  NATION  153 

accused  of  violating  the  written  Constitution,  of 
arresting  and  destroying  business  prosperity  and 
of  attempting  a  radical  departure  from  the  ac- 
cepted social  system  of  the  country,  he  was  re- 
markably successful.  By  his  speeches  and  mes- 
sages and  by  his  frank  use  of  one  of  the  greatest 
of  modern  social  engines  —  the  newspaper  press 
—  he  created  a  public  opinion  which  heartily  sup- 
ported him.  Under  his  affective  influence  laws 
were  framed  which  were  not  merely  in  them- 
selves measures  of  stringent  regulation  of  busi- 
ness and  the  accumulation  of  wealth,  but  which 
established  precedents  that  as  time  goes  on  will 
inevitably  make  the  doctrine  of  Federal  control 
permanent  and  of  wider  application.  The 
struggle  against  some  of  the  most  powerful 
financial  and  political  influences  of  the  time  not 
unnaturally  gave  rise  to  the  idea  that  his  work 
as  President  was  destructive  —  perhaps  the  nec- 
essary destructive  work  of  the  reformer  —  but 
not  essentially  constructive.  Even  those  friendly 
to  him  sometimes  felt  it  necessary  to  defend 
his  political  course  by  saying  that  he  was  com- 
pelled to  raze  the  old  buildings  and  prepare 
the  ground  on  which  his  successors  might  build 
new  and  better  structures."  Consideration  of 
his  constructive  achievements,  the  writer  holds, 
makes  the  "  destructive  "  theory  untenable. 

It  has  been  said  that  one  of  the  greatest  monu- 
ments to  Theodore  Roosevelt's  efforts  for  re- 
form is  the  Dolliver-Hepburn  railroad  act.  He 
began  demonstrating  the  need  of  such  legisla- 
tion in  1901.  He  announced  his  opinion  in  his 
message  of  December,  1903,  that  "  the  power 


154        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

of  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  should 
be  thoroughgoing,  so  that  it  could  exercise 
complete  supervision  and  control  over  the  issue 
of  securities  as  well  as  over  the  raising  and 
lowering  of  freight  rates." 

The  Dolliver-Hepburn  measure  occupied  most 
of  the  Congressional  session  of  1905-6.  The 
bill  became  a  law  on  June  29,  1906.  While 
it  was  vigorously  opposed  by  railroad  interests 
and  others,  most  of  these  opponents  later  gave 
approval  to  the  measure,  the  effect  of  which 
was  thus  described: 

"  It  has  ended  rate  wars,  steadied  traffic  con- 
ditions, put  a  stop  to  unregulated  and  injurious 
competition ;  has  largely  quieted  the  popular  out- 
cry against  railway  management,  and  has  put 
securities  on  a  sounder  basis  than  ever  be- 
fore." 

The  achievements  attributed  to  the  Roosevelt 
Administration  of  seven  years  and  the  policies 
recommended  by  the  strenuous  President  during 
that  time  are  many.  These,  as  arranged  by  his 
friends  to  illuminate  his  candidacy  for  the  Presi- 
dency as  leader  of  the  Progressive  Party  in 
1912,  are: 

1.  Dolliver-Hepburn  railroad  act. 

2.  Extension  of  forest  reserve. 

3.  National  irrigation  act. 

4.  Improvement  of  waterways  and  reserva- 
tion of  water-power  sites. 

5.  Employers'  liability  act. 

6.  Safety  appliance  act. 

7.  Regulation   of   railroad  employees'  hours 
of  labor. 


CALLED  BY  THE  NATION  155 

8.  Establishment    of    Department    of    Com- 
merce and  Labor. 

9.  Pure  food  and  drugs  act. 

10.  Federal  meat  inspection. 

11.  Navy  doubled  in  tonnage  and  greatly  in- 
creased in  efficiency. 

12.  Battleship  fleet  sent  around  the  world. 

13.  State    militia    brought    into    coordination 
with  the  army. 

14.  Canal  zone  acquired  and  work  of  excava- 
tion pushed  with  increased  energy. 

15.  Development  of  civil  self-government  in 
insular  possessions. 

1 6.  Second   intervention   in    Cuba;   Cuba    re- 
stored to  the  Cubans. 

17.  Finances   of   Santo  Domingo  adjusted. 

1 8.  Alaska  boundary  dispute  settled. 

19.  Reorganization  of  the  consular  service. 

20.  Settlement  of  the  coal  strike  of  1902. 

21.  The  Government  upheld  in  the  Northern 
Securities  decision. 

22.  Conviction  of  post  office  grafters  and  pub- 
lic land  thieves. 

23.  Investigation  of  the  sugar  trust  customs 
frauds  and  resulting  prosecutions. 

24.  Suits  begun  against  the  Standard  Oil  and 
Tobacco  companies  and  other  corporations  for 
violation  of  the  Sherman  anti-trust  act. 

25.  Corporations    forbidden  to   contribute   to 
political  campaign  funds. 

26.  The  door  of  China  kept  open  to  Ameri- 
can commerce. 

27.  The    settlement    of    the    Russo-Japanese 
War  by  the  treaty   of   Portsmouth. 


156        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

28.  Diplomatic  entanglements  created  by  the 
Pacific  coast  prejudice  against  Japanese  immi- 
gration avoided. 

29.  Twenty-four   treaties   of  general   arbitra- 
tion negotiated. 

30.  Interest  bearing  debt  reduced  by  more  than 
$90,000,000. 

31.  Annual  conference  of  Governors  of  States 
inaugurated. 

32.  Movement  for  conservation  of  natural  re- 
sources inaugurated. 

33.  Movement   for  the  improvement  of  con- 
ditions of  country  life  inaugurated. 

The  above  considered  as  the  achievements  of 
the  Roosevelt  Administration  of  seven  years,  the 
following  have  been  cited  as  the  policies  recom- 
mended by  him  as  President,  some  of  which 
were  carried  out  in  the  administration  of  his 
successor : 

1.  Reform  of  the  banking  and  currency  sys- 
tem. 

2.  Inheritance  tax. 

3.  Income  tax. 

4.  Passage  of  a  new  employer's  liability  act 
to  meet  objections  raised  by  the  Supreme  Court 

5.  Postal  savings  banks. 

6.  Parcel  post. 

7.  Revision  of  the  Sherman  anti-trust  act. 

8.  Legislation    to    prevent    overcapitalization, 
stock  watering  and   manipulations  by   common 
carriers. 

9.  Legislation  compelling  incorporation  under 
Federal  laws  of  corporations  engaged  in  inter- 
state commerce. 


CALLED  BY  THE  NATION  157 

In  reviewing  the  Roosevelt  movement  for  the 
Conservation  of  National  Resources  the  same 
writer  for  the  "  Encyclopaedia  Britannica  "  says : 

"If  Mr.  Roosevelt  did  not  invent  this  term 
he  literally  created  as  well  as  led  the  movement 
which  made  conservation  in  1910  the  foremost 
political  and  social  question  in  the  United  States. 
The  old  theory  was  that  the  general  prosperity 
of  the  country  depends  upon  the  development 
which  can  best  be  achieved  by  private  capital, 
acting  under  the  natural  incentive  of  financial 
profits.  Upon  this  theory  public  land  was  either 
given  away  or  sold  for  a  trifle  by  the  nation 
to  individual  holders. 

"  While  it  is  true  that  the  building  of  railways, 
the  opening  of  mines,  the  growth  of  the  lumber 
industry  and  the  settlement  of  frontier  lands 
by  hardy  pioneers  were  rapidly  promoted  by  this 
policy,  it  also  resulted  naturally  in  the  accumu- 
lation of  great  wealth  in  the  hands  of  a  com- 
paratively few  men  who  were  controlling  lumber, 
coal,  oil  and  railway  transportation  in  a  way 
that  was  believed  to  be  a  menace  to  the  public 
welfare.  Nor  was  the  concentration  of  wealth 
the  only  danger  of  this  policy;  it  led  to  the 
destruction  of  forests,  the  exhaustion  of  farm- 
ing soils  and  the  wasteful  mining  of  coal  and 
minerals,  since  the  desire  for  quick  profits,  even 
when  they  entail  risk  to  permanency  of  capital, 
is  always  a  powerful  human  motive. 

"  Mr.  Roosevelt  not  only  framed  legislation 
to  regulate  this  concentration  of  wealth  and 
to  preserve  forests,  water  power,  mines  and 
arable  soil,  but  organized  departments  in  his  ad- 


158        ROOSEVELT'S  'LIFE  AND  MEANING 

ministration  for  carrying  his  legislation  into  ef- 
fect. His  official  acts  and  the  influence  of  his 
speeches  and  messages  led  to  the  adoption  by 
both  citizens  and  Government  of  a  new  theory 
regarding  natural  resources.  It  is  that  the  Gov- 
ernment, acting  for  the  people,  who  are  the  real 
owners  of  all  public  property,  shall  permanently 
retain  the  fee  in  public  lands,  leaving  their  prod- 
ucts to  be  developed  by  private  capital  under 
leases  which  are  limited  in  their  duration  and 
which  give  the  Government  complete  power  to 
regulate  the  industrial  operations  of  the  leases." 

This  same  authority  finds  that  the  greatest 
single  achievement  of  Mr.  Roosevelt's  presidency 
was  the  taking  over  by  the  United  States  of  the 
project  to  build  the  Panama  Canal,  adding: 
"  The  project  itself  is  nearly  four  centuries 
old.  For  a  century  Great  Britain  and  the  United 
States  had  been  sometimes  in  friendly,  some- 
times in  acrimonious  dispute  as  to  how  this  was 
to  be  accomplished.  The  French  undertook  the 
work  and  failed.  Mr.  Roosevelt  recognized  the 
new  republic  of  Panama,  and  obtained  from  it 
for  the  United  States,  in  return  for  a  commer- 
cial and  military  protection  advantageous  to  Pan- 
ama, the  right  to  build  a  canal  and  control  it  in 
perpetuity. 

"  His  critics  said  that  his  course  in  this  mat- 
ter was  unconstitutional,  although  the  question 
of  constitutionality  has  never  been  raised  before 
any  national  or  international  tribunal.  The  fact 
remains  that  the  construction  of  the  Panama 
Canal  was  undertaken  to  the  practical  satisfac- 
tion of  the  civilized  world.  But  for  Mr.  Roose- 


CALLED  BY  THE  NATION  159 

velt's  vigorous  official  action  and  his  character- 
istic ability  to  inspire  associates  with  enthusi- 
asm the  canal  would  still  be  a  subject  of  diplo- 
matic discussion  instead  of  a  physical  actuality." 
Again  emphasizing  his  statesmanship  in  deal- 
ing with  colonial  problems,  the  "  Britannica " 
writer  says,  "  Strictly  speaking,  the  United 
States  has  no  colonial  policy,  for  the  Philippine 
Islands  and  Porto  Rico  can  scarcely  be  called 
colonies.  It  has,  however,  a  policy  of  territorial 
expansion.  Although  this  policy  was  entered 
upon  at  the  conclusion  of  the  Spanish  war  under 
the  presidency  of  Mr.  McKinley,  it  has  been 
very  largely  shaped  by  Mr.  Roosevelt.  He  de- 
termined that  Cuba  should  not  be  taken  over  by 
the  United  States,  as  all  Europe  expected  it 
would  be  and  an  influential  section  of  his  own 
party  hoped  it  would  be,  but  should  be  given 
every  opportunity  to  govern  itself  as  an  inde- 
pendent republic ;  by  assuming  supervision  of  the 
finances  of  Santo  Domingo  he  put  an  end  to 
controversies  in  that  unstable  republic,  which 
threatened  to  disturb  the  peace  o_f  Europe,  and 
he  personally  inspired  the  body  of  administra- 
tive officials  in  the  Philippines,  in  Porto  Rico 
and  (during  the  American  occupancy)  in  Cuba, 
who  for  efficiency  and  unselfish  devotion  to  duty 
compare  favorably  with  any  similar  body  in  the 
world.  In  numerous  speeches  and  addresses  he 
expressed  his  belief  in  a  strong  colonial  govern- 
ment, but  a  government  administered  for  the 
benefit  of  the  people  under  its  control  and  not 
for  the  profit  of  the  people  at  home.  In  this 
respect,  for  the  seven  years  of  his  administra- 


160         ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

tion  at  Washington,  he  developed  a  policy  of 
statesmanship  quite  new  in  the  history  of  the 
United  States." 

Resisting  all  arguments  and  persuasions  from 
politicians  and  people  to  accept  another  nomina- 
tion for  the  Presidency,  Mr.  Roosevelt  left  the 
White  House  March  4,  1909,  after  having  de- 
liberately put  forward  his  best  friend  and  prin- 
cipal advisor,  William  Howard  Taft,  as  his  suc- 
cessor and  throwing  all  of  his  vast  influence 
toward  Mr.  Taft's  success. 


CHAPTER  X 

EXPLORER   AND   GOOD   SPORTSMAN 

A  LOVER  of  wild  life,  at  home  in  the  wilder- 
ness, whether  on  foot  or  on  horseback,  Mr. 
Roosevelt  took  high  rank  as  a  sportsman.  He 
was  declared  by  all  who  knew  him  to  be  a  "  true 
sportsman  "  in  every  respect,  a  conscientious  ob- 
server of  the  rules  of  the  game,  quick  on  the 
trigger,  no  mean  match  in  a  fight  with  gloves 
or  bare  knuckles. 

After  the  election  of  President  Taft,  some- 
thing was  needed  as  an  outlet  for  his  abounding 
energy.  Big  game  shooting  was  in  his  mind,  and 
talking  it  over  with  his  famous  "  Tennis  Cabi- 
net," all  good  sportsmen,  says  the  New  York 
Sun,  he  decided  that  his  yearning  for  outdoor 
adventure  would  find  its  heartiest  expression  in 
Africa.  So  with  his  son  Kermit  and  a  modest 
expedition,  he  set  sail  for  Africa  on  March  23, 


EXPLORER  AND  SPORTSMAN  161 

1909,  aiming  at  the  acquisition  of  flora  and  fauna 
trophies  of  a  new  country,  as  well  as  desiring 
the  thrills  of  elephant  and  buffalo  hunting.  The 
Sun  proceeds : 

The  expedition  was  in  the  wilderness  until  the 
middle  of  the  following  March,  during  which 
time  it  was  almost  completely  cut  off  from  com- 
munication with  the  world.  One  result  was  a 
collection,  which  scientists  have  said  was  of  un- 
usual value  to  students  of  natural  history.  His 
experiences  the  hunter  naturalist  described  in  his 
"African  Game  Trails,"  published  by  Charles 
Scribner's  Sons. 

One  of  the  experiences  he  had  long  been  an- 
ticipating was  the  shooting  of  buffalo.  The 
former  President  hunted  buffalo  to  his  heart's 
content  on  Heatley's  Ranch,  which  comprised 
some  20,000  acres  between  the  Rewero  and 
Kamiti  rivers  and  was  seventeen  miles  long  and 
four  miles  wide.  The  Kamiti  was  described  as 
a  queer  little  stream,  running  through  a  dense, 
broad  swamp  of  tall  papyrus,  the  home  of  a 
buffalo  herd  numbering  one  hundred  individuals, 
and  was  all  but  impenetrable. 

"  There  is  no  doubt,"  he  wrote,  "  that  under 
certain  circumstances  buffalo,  in  addition  to 
showing  themselves  exceedingly  dangerous  op- 
ponents when  wounded  by  hunters,  become 
truculent  and  inclined  to  take  the  offensive  them- 
selves. There  are  places  in  East  Africa  where, 
as  regards  at  least  certain  herds,  this  seems  to 
be  the  case;  and  in  Uganda  the  buffalo  have 
caused  such  loss  of  life  and  such  damage  to  the 
native  plantations  that  they  are  now  ranked  as 


162        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

vermin  and  not  as  game,  and  their  killing  is 
encouraged  in  every  possible  way." 

Continuing  with  his  description  of  the  hunt  in 
Heatley's  swamp,  the  narrator  goes  on: 

"  Cautiously  threading  our  way  along  the  edge 
of  the  swamp  we  got  within  150  yards  of  the 
buffalo  before  we  were  perceived.  There  were 
four  bulls  grazing  close  by  the  edge  of  the 
swamp,  their  black  bodies  glistening  in  the  early 
sun-rays,  their  massive  horns  showing  white  and 
the  cow-herons  perched  on  their  backs.  They 
stared  suddenly  at  us  with  outstretched  heads 
from  under  their  great  frontlets  of  horn. 

"  The  biggest  of  the  four  stood  a  little  out 
from  the  other  three,  and  at  him  I  fired,  the 
bullet  telling  with  a  snack  on  the  tough  hide 
and  going  through  the  lungs.  We  had  been 
afraid  they  would  at  once  turn  into  the  papyrus, 
but  instead  of  this  they  started  straight  across 
our  front  directly  for  the  open  country. 

"  This  was  a  piece  of  huge  good  luck.  Ker- 
mit  put  his  first  barrel  into  the  second  bull  and 
I  my  second  barrel  into  one  of  the  others,  after 
which  it  became  impossible  to  say  which  bullet 
struck  which  animal,  as  the  firing  became  gen- 
eral. They  ran  a  quarter  of  a  mile  into  the 
open,  and  then  the  big  bull  I  had  first  shot,  and 
which  had  no  other  bullet  in  him,  dropped  dead, 
while  the  other  three,  all  of  which  were  wounded, 
halted  beside  him. 

"  We  walked  toward  them  rather  expecting  a 
charge,  but  when  we  were  still  over  two  hun- 
dred yards  away  they  started  back  for  the  swamp 
and  we  began  firing.  The  distance  being  long, 


EXPLORER  AND  SPORTSMAN  163 

I  used  my  Winchester.  Aiming  well  before  one 
bull  he  dropped  to  the  shot  as  if  poleaxed,  fall- 
ing straight  on  his  back  with  his  legs  kicking, 
but  in  a  moment  he  was  up  again  and  after  the 
others.  Later  I  found  that  the  bullet,  a  full 
metal  patch,  had  struck  him  in  the  head  but  did 
not  penetrate  the  brain,  and  merely  stunned  him 
for  the  moment. 

"All  the  time  we  kept  running  diagonally  to 
their  line  of  flight.  They  were  all  three  badly 
wounded,  and  when  they  reached  the  tall,  rank 
grass,  high  as  a  man's  head,  which  fringed  the 
papyrus  swamp,  the  two  foremost  lay  down  while 
the  last  one,  the  one  I  had  floored  with  the  Win- 
chester, turned,  and  with  nose  outstretched  be- 
gan to  come  toward  us.  He  was  badly  crippled, 
however,  and  with  a  soft-nosed  bullet  from  my 
heavy  Holland  I  knocked  him  down,  this  time 
for  good.  The  other  two  then  rose,  and  though 
each  was  again  hit  they  reached  the  swamp,  one 
of  them  to  our  right,  the  other  to  the  left,  where 
the  papyrus  came  out  in  a  point. 

"We  decided  to  go  after  the  latter  and,  ad- 
vancing very  cautiously  toward  the  edge  of  the 
swamp,  put  in  the  three  big  dogs.  A  moment 
afterward  they  gave  tongue  within  the  papyrus. 

"  Heatley  now  mounted  his  trained  shooting 
pony  and  rode  toward  the  place,  while  we  cov- 
ered him  with  our  rifles,  his  plan  being  to  run 
right  across  our  front  if  the  bull  charged.  The 
bull  was  past  charging,  lying  just  within  the 
reeds,  but  he  was  still  able  to  do  damage,  for 
in  another  minute  one  of  the  dogs  came  out  to 
us  and  ran  straight  back  to  the  farmhouse, 


164        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

where  we  found  him  dead  on  our  return.  He 
had  been  caught  by  the  buffalo's  horns  when 
he  went  in  too  close. 

"  Heatley,  a  daring  fellow,  with  great  confi- 
dence in  both  his  horse  and  his  rifle,  pushed  for- 
ward as  we  came  up  and  saw  the  bull  lying  on 
the  ground  while  the  other  two  dogs  bit  and  wor- 
ried it  and  he  put  a  bullet  through  its  head." 

Mr.  R.  J.  Cuninghame,  the  famous  African 
hunter,  who  was  in  charge  of  this  expedition, 
became  an  enthusiastic  admirer  of  Colonel 
Roosevelt.  He  told  the  London  correspondent 
of  the  New  York  Times  that  the  Colonel  was 
excellent  company,  never  made  difficulties,  never 
complained  of  petty  annoyances,  and  was  full 
of  anecdotes  and  good  stories.  The  interview 
with  Mr.  Cuninghame  continues : 

"  When  we  started  he  ordered  me  to  put  him 
on  the  steps  of  the  palace  at  Khartum  at  four 
o'clock  on  the  afternoon  of  a  certain  day,  and 
I  did  it  but  it  was  necessary  to  put  in  three 
weeks  of  the  hardest  kind  of  marching  from 
Uganda  to  the  Nile.  It  was  terribly  hot  and 
rough  going,  and  the  mosquitoes  were  awful ; 
but  the  Colonel  knew  it  had  to  be  done,  and 
he  never  complained. 

"  He  obeyed  my  orders  implicitly,"  said  Cun- 
inghame. "  He  might  question  them  afterward 
but  never  at  the  time.  Sometimes  he  did  not 
understand  them,  but  he  was  always  prompt  in 
observing  them." 

Cuninghame  was  very  emphatic  in  insisting 
upon  the  scientific  character  of  the  expedition. 


EXPLORER  AND  SPORTSMAN  165 

"  We  brought  back,"  he  said,  "  about  two 
thousand  animals  and  most  unjustified  criticism 
has  been  based  on  that.  The  Colonel  has  been 
called  a  game  butcher.  It  was  absolutely  false. 
He  went  out  with  the  definite  purpose  of  getting 
a  collection  of  East  African  fauna  for  American 
natural  history  museums  and  he  kept  that  always 
in  view." 

"  Was  he  a  first-rate  shot  ?  "  Cuninghame  was 
asked. 

"  I  will  call  him  a  good  one,"  was  the  reply ; 
"  that  is,  you  could  always  rely  on  his  hitting 
his  animal  and,  if  he  did  not  put  a  shot  in  the 
right  place,  of  hitting  him  again  and  again  until 
he  had  dropped  him.  A  good  many  men  won't 
do  even  that,  you  know. 

"  He  had  one  very  near  squeak.  He  was  de- 
termined to  get  an  elephant  and  a  tusker  at  that. 
I  told  him  what  that  meant  and  how  much  risk 
there  was,  but  he  said  he  was  willing  to  face  it. 
That  was  the  Colonel  all  over.  Tell  him  the 
risks  and  he  would  size  them  up  quietly.  If 
he  decided  they  were  worth  while  that  was  all 
there  was  to  it.  He  just  went  ahead  and  took 
them  without  saying  another  word. 

"  Well,  we  found  an  elephant  in  a  forest  on 
Kenia  Mountain.  We  had  been  hunting  for 
three  days,  and  it  was  really  hard  work  for  a 
man  of  the  Colonel's  bulk  in  that  heat  and  at 
that  altitude,  11,000  feet.  At  last,  through  a 
thick  bush,  I  caught  just  a  glimpse  of  elephant 
hide  and  a  tusk,  about  thirty-five  feet  away,  just 
enough  to  tell  me  it  was  a  fine  specimen.  I 


166        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

pointed  it  out  to  the  Colonel,  and  he  fired  with 
complete  coolness  and  got  the  elephant  in  the  ear 
and  dropped  him. 

"  As  the  shot  went  off  the  forest  all  round 
roared  aloud  with  trumpetings.  We  were  in  the 
midst  of  a  herd  of  cows  and  young  bulls,  and 
one  of  the  latter  thrust  his  head  through  the 
bushes  right  over  the  Colonel's  head.  I  was 
right  behind  him,  and  fired  at  once  and  bowled  it 
over.  Then  I  rushed  up  to  the  Colonel  and  said, 
'  Are  you  all  right,  Sir  ? '  But  I  could  see  he 
was  before  I  spoke. 

"  He  hadn't  turned  a  hair.  At  any  moment 
the  cows  might  have  blundered  through  the  bush 
over  us,  but  he  never  thought  of  that.  He  went 
up  to  the  old  chap  he  had  killed  and  gave  it  the 
coup  de  grace,  and  then  let  himself  loose.  I 
never  saw  a  man  so  boyishly  jubilant,  waving 
his  hat  and  dancing  about.  He  had  himself 
photographed  with  the  elephant,  and  was  abso- 
lutely delighted.  But  half  an  hour  later,  when 
we  were  back  in  camp  and  the  elephant  had 
been  handed  over  to  the  scientists,  he  sat  down 
in  a  chair  and  started  to  read  Balzac. 

"  That  was  typical.  While  the  Colonel  was 
on  a  job  he  was  altogether  wrapped  up  in  it. 
As  soon  as  it  was  over  and  some  one  else  had 
taken  charge  he  was  busy  about  something  else. 
So,  after  all  his  fatigue  and  excitement,  in  the 
midst  of  the  camp,  with  the  noise  of  negro  car- 
riers all  round  him,  he  gave  himself  up  to  Bal- 
zac. 

"  I  never  knew  a  man  with  such  never-relaxing 
energy.  He  was  keen  day  after  day.  The  hard- 


EXPLORER  AND  SPORTSMAN  167 

est  thing  he  had  to  do,  he  told  me,  was  to  write 
his  book.  Yes,  it  was  the  famous  dollar-a- 
word  book.  He  told  me  another  publisher  of- 
fered him  two  dollars,  but  after  weighing  it  all  up 
he  thought  it  was  a  better  bargain  to  be  pub- 
lished by  Scribners  at  only  a  dollar  a  word  than 
by  the  other  man.  But  it  was  real  hard  work 
for  him  to  sit  down  at  the  end  of  each  day's 
march  and  grind  it  out  in  that  heat." 

Then  Cuninghame  asked  to  be  allowed  to 
give  his  testimony  as  to  the  strict  temperance 
of  Roosevelt. 

"  He  had  a  libel  suit  about  it,  didn't  he?"  he 
asked.  "  I'd  like  to  say  what  I  know.  The  ex- 
pedition was  strictly  dry  —  isn't  that  the  word? 
Of  course,  we  had  a  little  champagne,  brandy, 
and  rye  whiskey  as  medical  stores,  and  there 
was  one  special  bottle  of  brandy  of  the  very 
finest  brand  labeled  '  Colonel's '  which  was  en- 
trusted to  my  care.  Well,  he  never  touched  a 
drop  of  anything  except,  perhaps,  at  a  formal 
banquet,  where  he  had  a  glass  of  sherry  to  sip 
a  toast  to  the  King. 

"  But  at  last  he  had  a  touch  of  fever  and  the 
surgeon  ordered  him  a  dose  of  his  own  brandy. 
It  was  measured  out  like  medicine,  perhaps  two 
ounces  to  three  of  water.  He  drank  it  and  at 
once  spat  it  out.  He  explained  that  as  soon  as 
spirits  entered  his  throat  his  muscles  always  au- 
tomatically contracted  and  rejected  them. 

"  The  surgeon  insisted,  and  threatened  to  in- 
ject morphine  in  his  throat  and  deaden  every- 
thing unless  he  tried  again.  At  length  he  in- 
duced the  Colonel  to  take  a  spoonful  of  salad- 


168        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

oil  first,  and  under  its  mollifying  influence  he 
got  one  dose  of  brandy  down  and  it  was  as  mild 
as  milk.  You  know  that  was  all  he  took  of  the 
bottle  on  the  trip,  and  when  we  got  to  Khartum 
I  had  the  bottle  measured  before  I  handed 
it  over  to  prove  that  only  two  doses  were 
gone. 

"  Yet,  he  was  in  no  way  fanatical  about  drink- 
ing. He  had  no  use  for  a  man  who  took  more 
than  he  could  carry,  but  he  had  no  objection 
to  a  man  taking  a  drink." 

On  one  occasion  Colonel  Roosevelt  proved 
how  well  he  could  rise  to  an  emergency.  The 
expedition  was  on  the  Kongo  when  forest-fires 
broke  out.  Cuninghame  was  away  in  the  bush 
and  the  Colonel  at  once  took  command.  There 
were  a  thousand  negro  carriers  to  handle,  but 
he  gave  the  necessary  orders,  started  back-fires, 
and  collected  the  baggage  so  that  when  Cuning- 
hame returned  he  could  suggest  nothing  and 
asked  the  Colonel  to  carry  on  and  complete  the 
job. 

"  He  was  a  big  man,"  said  the  hunter  in  con- 
clusion. "  He  impressed  every  one  and  domi- 
nated every  one  by  sheer  force  of  his  person- 
ality." 

Though  the  expedition  traversed  lands  already 
visited  by  some  of  the  great  naturalist  explorers 
of  the  world,  Roosevelt  made  discoveries  and 
recorded  many  facts  not  before  known  as  to 
the  life  history  of  beasts  and  birds  in  equatorial 
East  Africa,  says  the  Evening  Sun,  New  York. 
He  was  careful  to  note  the  seasons  at  which 
the  young  of  different  antelopes  and  other  large 


EXPLORER  AND  SPORTSMAN  169 

game  appear.  He  wrote  new  information  of 
the  chita  hunting  cat,  a  little  known  and  little 
studied  carnivore  in  its  wild  state  both  in  Africa 
and  Asia.  He  brought  out,  as  no  earlier  traveler 
had  done,  the  extent  to  which  the  wild  game 
is  persecuted  and  infested  with  ticks. 

He  informed  the  scientific  world,  according  to 
able  critics  of  his  writings,  of  new  facts  about 
the  ordinary  rhinoceros  and  its  peculiar  habits, 
and  emphasized  the  square-lipped,  white  rhinoc- 
eros as  to  its  gentler  disposition  and  its  associa- 
tion with  the  white  egrets  which,  in  accompany- 
ing it  for  protection  from  the  ticks,  whiten  its 
broad  back  with  guano.  He  got  particulars  re- 
garding the  lion's  method  of  killing  most  of  the 
larger  antelopes  and  zebra  by  springing  to  their 
backs  and  biting  through  the  vertebrae  of  the 
neck.  He  made  observations  of  baboons,  hy- 
enas, elephants,  white  rhinoceroses,  water  birds, 
Grevy's  zebra,  white-bellied  hogs,  the  hyraxes 
and  the  forest  and  mountain  rats,  interesting  to 
naturalists  in  all  countries  and  pronounced  by 
capable  scientists  to  be  in  many  cases  absolutely 
novel. 

To  Theodore  Roosevelt  the  hunt  was  the  most 
magnificent,  real  life  drama  of  latter  day  exist- 
ence; in  the  chase  he  returned  to  the  primordial 
thrills  unknown  to  the  sedentary,  shopworn  high- 
ways of  urban  life.  After  twenty-five  years  of 
experience  more  replete  with  the  stress  and 
storm,  the  adulation  and  the  excitement  of  the 
highest  public  office  within  the  gift  of  the  people 
he  wrote  in  his  foreword  to  "  African  Game 
Trails,"  at  Khartum,  on  March  15,  1910,  the 


170        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

following  sentences,  showing  the  unaltered  love 
of  the  open: 

"  There  are  no  words  that  can  tell  the  hidden 
spirit  of  the  wilderness,  that  can  reveal  its  mys- 
tery, its  melancholy  and  its  charm.  There  is  de- 
light in  the  hardy  life  of  the  open,  in  long  rides, 
rifle  in  hand,  in  the  thrill  of  the  fight  with  dan- 
gerous game.  Apart  from  this,  yet  mingled 
with  it,  is  the  strong  attraction  of  the  silent 
places,  of  the  large  tropic  moons,  and  the  splen- 
dor of  the  new  stars ;  where  the  wanderer  sees 
the  awful  glory  of  sunrise  and  sunset  in  the  wild 
waste  spaces  of  the  earth,  unworn  of  man  and 
changed  only  by  the  slow  changes  of  the  ages 
through  time  everlasting." 

Following  the  African  expedition  he  spent  the 
spring  and  early  summer  months  of  1910  in 
traveling  through  Egypt,  Continental  Europe 
and  England,  accepting  many  invitations  to  make 
public  addresses  in  those  countries.  He  received 
popular  and  official  ovations  suggestive  of  royal 
distinction.  He  received  honorary  degrees  from 
the  universities  of  Cairo,  Christiania,  Berlin, 
Cambridge  and  Oxford. 

The  demonstrations  of  the  European  coun- 
tries, the  appearance  of  an  American  before 
learned  bodies  of  foreign  countries  whom  he  ad- 
dressed frequently  in  their  own  languages,  his 
advice  to  the  young  Egyptians  and  his  Guild- 
hall speech  in  England,  awakened  a  severe  analy- 
sis of  Roosevelt  not  so  much  as  a  statesman,  for 
his  administrative  achievements  were  reason- 
ably well  known,  but  as  a  scholar,  reader,  stu- 
dent and  author. 


EXPLORER  'AND  SPORTSMAN  171 

His  knowledge  of  general  linguistic  lore  was 
masterly,  and  he  was  a  scholar  of  the  first  rank 
in  the  classics.  The  savants  of  the  Sorbonne 
heard  him  address  them  in  as  flawless  French  as 
they  themselves  could  employ,  and  he  spoke  Ger- 
man with  all  the  fluency  of  a  highly  educated  na- 
tive. His  knowledge  of  Spanish  made  inter- 
preters superfluous  on  his  South  American 
travels,  and  he  was  equally  familiar  with  Italian 
and  other  tongues. 

How  the  Colonel,  in  his  crowded  years,  had 
ever  found  time  to  equip  himself  thus  thoroughly 
in  this  direction  was  always  a  matter  of  wonder- 
ment to  his  friends. 

The  aristocratic  lineage  of  the  man  in  com- 
bination with  his  service  as  President  and  his  pal- 
pable power  under  all  circumstances  was  "  such 
as  to  appeal  to  the  nations  which  to  a  greater  ex- 
tent than  America  are  ruled  by  governing 
classes."  In  Germany  he  was  proclaimed  as 
"  Bismarckian,"  in  Italy  he  was  "  Garibaldian," 
in  France  he  was  the  "  typical  Gaul,"  and  in  Eng- 
land he  was  compared  to  "  Gladstone  " ;  and  in 
most  countries  he  was  said  to  be  utterly  un- 
American,  and  in  something  of  disdain  for  the 
rest  of  America  he  was  called  our  first  "  gentle- 
man statesman." 

There  were  points  of  resemblance  and  points 
of  sharp  contrast  between  Roosevelt  and  Glad- 
stone. Roosevelt  had  awakened  strong  opposi- 
tion because  of  the  policies  he  believed  were 
essential  to  the  rule  of  the  people.  Gladstone 
was  said  to  be  inconsistent  because  he  favored 
such  tremendous  changes  in  England  to  the  in- 


172        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

terest  of  the  fuller  rights  of  the  people.  Roose- 
velt had  probably  molded  public  opinion  to  a 
greater  extent  than  any  man  before  him.  Of 
Gladstone  Morley  writes :  "  In  every  one  of  his 
achievements  of  high  mark  he  expressly  formed 
or  endeavored  to  form  and  create  the  public 
opinion  upon  which  he  knew  in  the  last  resort 
he  must  depend."  Both  Gladstone  and  Roose- 
velt possessed  powerful  physiques  developed  by 
athletic  exercise.  Both  had  great  power  in  ad- 
vocating their  policies  before  audiences  favorable 
or  hostile.  Both  believed  that  morality  was 
the  basis  of  all  reform.  Both  were  authors  of 
books  on  living  questions  and  contributed  to 
magazines  and  newspapers  much  that  influenced 
public  opinion. 

In  1913,  Mr.  Roosevelt  was  invited  to  go  to 
Argentina  to  lecture  on  problems  of  government 
in  a  democracy.  He  accepted  the  invitation, 
planning  at  the  same  time  to  make  a  trip  into 
Brazil  and  explore  the  jungles  and  rivers  of  the 
great  Amazon  Valley.  He  sailed  October  4th 
with  his  son  Kermit  and  a  party  of  friends  and 
was  gone  seven  and  a  half  months.  It  proved  to 
be  the  most  dangerous  and  important  of  all  his 
journeys  for  exploration  and  study  of  natural 
history. 

Late  in  the  year,  with  several  Brazilian  guides 
and  army  officers,  his  party  plunged  into  the 
jungles,  following  the  Paraguay  River  to  its  head 
waters  and  then  striking  into  utterly  unexplored 
tountry.  He  discovered  the  "  River  of  Doubt," 
so  named  by  him,  which  provoked  a  scientific 
controversy  before  its  existence  was  finally  es- 


EXPLORER  AND  SPORTSMAN  i?3 

tablished.  Later  the  stream  was  renamed  by  the 
Brazilian  government  "  Rio  Teodoro,"  in  honor 
of  its  discoverer. 

The  river  was  found  to  be  a  thousand  miles 
long  and  flowed  from  a  spot  13  south  latitude  and 
59  west  longtitude,  through  many  doublings  and 
twistings,  into  the  River  Madeira.  In  volume 
it  is  similar  to  the  Rhone,  the  Elbe,  or  the  Hud- 
son. Roosevelt's  party  followed  it  for  the 
greater  part  of  its  length,  passing  through 
stretches  of  country  where  the  feet  of  white  men 
had  never  trodden  before.  After  exploring  its 
source,  Roosevelt  said  of  it : 

"  The  upper  part  of  its  course  was  utterly  un- 
known to  anybody  except  the  wild  men  on  its 
bank,  while  the  lower  part  was  known  to  a  few 
rubber  men  only.  The  river  takes  its  rise  in  the 
high  uplands  of  the  western  part  of  the  State  of 
Matto  Grosso,  just  north  of  the  I3th  parallel  of 
south  latitude  and  between  longitude  59  and  60 
west  of  Greenwich." 

During  the  journey  the  Colonel  and  his  fel- 
low naturalists  collected  more  than  2,100  birds 
and  mammals,  many  new  to  science. 

The  expedition  passed  through  the  most  ter- 
rible hardships.  For  a  long  time  they  were  on 
reduced  rations,  and  many  of  their  number,  the 
Colonel  among  them,  came  down  with  fever. 
His  constant  thought,  all  through  his  illness,  was 
for  his  companions.  "  This  looks  like  the  last 
for  me,  doctor,"  said  the  ex-president  to  Doctor 
Cajaziera.  "  If  I'm  to  go,  it's  all  right.  You 
see  that  the  others  don't  stop  for  me."  And 
again  he  said :  "  I've  the  shortest  span  of  life 


174         ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

ahead  of  any  in  the  party.  If  any  one  is  to  die 
here,  I  must  be  the  one.  The  others  must  look 
out  for  themselves.  You  are  all  strong  and  can 
make  it."  But  he  pulled  through.  At  another 
time  he  was  thrown  out  of  his  canoe  against  pro- 
jecting rocks,  and  his  right  leg  was  cut  to  the 
bone.  This  attack  of  jungle  fever,  it  is  believed, 
sapped  his  hitherto  splendid  constitution  so  that 
he  never  fully  regained  his  former  vigor.  He 
returned  to  the  United  States  May  19,  1914,  and 
the  people  at  home  never  knew  how  narrow  had 
been  his  escape  from  death. 


CHAPTER  XI 

BIRTH   AND  DEATH   OF  THE   PROGRESSIVE  PARTY 

WHETHER  or  not  any  agreement  existed  be- 
tween Mr.  Roosevelt  and  Mr.  Taft,  when  the 
former  turned  over  the  presidency  to  the  latter, 
as  to  the  course  Mr.  Taft  should  follow  gener- 
ally in  domestic  and  foreign  policies  no  person 
surely  knows  or  knew,  remarked  the  Sun,  except 
the  late  Colonel  Roosevelt  and  the  living  Ex- 
president  Taft. 

It  is  certain,  however,  that  disappointment  and 
discontent  grew  apace  among  the  'Stanch  sup- 
porters of  the  Roosevelt  policies  within  a  com- 
paratively brief  time  after  the  new  administra- 
tion began,  and  reports  did  not  fail  to  reach 
the  explorer  in  the  African  wilderness.  Some 
of  his  friends  went  across  the  ocean  to  meet  him 
as  soon  as  he  emerged  from  the  dark  continent, 


THE  PROGRESSIVE  PARTY  175 

and  they  poured  their  compliments  into  his  ears. 

He  returned  to  the  United  States  in  a  frame 
of  mind,  politically,  which  must  be  imagined,  for 
he  avoided  comment  on  the  National  Administra- 
tion and  joined  the  staff  of  The  Outlook  as  con- 
tributing editor  and  wrote  essays  on  politics, 
economics  and  social  matters  until  he  threw  him- 
self with  characteristic  energy  into  the  campaign 
in  behalf  of  his  old  friend  and  associate  in  Gov- 
ernment, Henry  L.  Stimson,  the  Republican 
candidate  for  governor.  He  beat  the  Republican 
Old  Guard  in  the  convention  fight  at  Syracuse, 
carrying  everything  before  his  electric  energy, 
but  he  could  not  elect  Stimson,  the  State  turning 
to  the  Democratic  Party  that  year. 

During  the  latter  part  of  1910  and  the  early 
months  of  1911,  Mr.  Roosevelt  made  an  exten- 
sive tour  of  the  country,  lecturing  on  what  he 
termed  "  The  New  Nationalism."  In  these  lec- 
tures he  outlined  the  program  of  legislative  and 
judicial  reforms  that  later  became  the  basis  for 
the  platform  of  the  Progressive  party. 

The  presidential  campaign  of  1912  was  so  sen- 
sational, and  contained  so  many  complicating 
circumstances  that  accounts  of  it  vary  widely. 
A  peculiarly  fair  and  intimate  study  of  the 
conditions  leading  up  to  it  was  written  by 
Mr.  Roosevelt's  close  friend  Ex-Congressman 
Charles  G.  Washburn  and  included  in  his  book, 
"  Theodore  Roosevelt,  the  Logic  of  His  Career," 
published  in  1916  by  Houghton-Mifflin  Company. 
By  Mr.  Washburn's  permission  that  illuminative 
study  of  Mr.  Roosevelt's  1912  candidacy  is  here 
reproduced : 


i;6        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

Properly  to  understand  the  situation  from  my 
point  of  view,  we  must  go  back  to  the  election  of 
1904,  of  which  Roosevelt  said  in  his  address  be- 
fore the  Cambridge  (England)  Union,  in 
1910: — 

"  During  my  first  term  of  office  as  President 
of  the  United  States,  I  said :  '  Now,  I  do  not  wish 
there  to  be  any  misunderstanding.  I  like  my 
job,  and  I  want  to  keep  it  for  four  years  longer.' 
I  don't  think  any  President  ever  enjoyed  himself 
more  than  I  did.  Moreover,  I  don't  think  any 
Ex- President  ever  enjoyed  himself  more.  I 
have  enjoyed  my  life  and  my  work  because 
I  thoroughly  believe  that  success  —  the  real  suc- 
cess —  does  not  depend  upon  the  position  you 
hold,  but  upon  how  you  carry  yourself  in  that 
position." 

There  is  no  doubt  in  the  mind  of  any  one,  I 
think,  that  the  president  did  like  his  job  and 
wanted  to  be  elected  in  1904,  and  he  was  by  a 
majority  staggering  in  its  size.  There  is  no 
doubt  whatever  that  he  liked  the  job  equally 
well  when  he  finished  his  term  in  1909,  and  I 
have  never  heard  any  doubt  expressed  that  he 
could  have  carried  the  nomination  in  1908,  for  a 
second  "  elective  term,"  as  some  liked  to  ex- 
press it,  had  he  desired  it  or  even  said  that  he 
would  accept  it.  He  was  not  weary  of  the  office 
in  1908,  nor  was  he  unduly  oppressed  and 
weighed  down,  as  many  men  have  been,  by  its 
responsibilities.  If  he  ever  hnd  an  overpower- 
ing ambition  to  continue  to  be  President,  he  must 
have  had  it  then;  and  had  he  possessed  the  lust 
for  power  that  has  been  credited  to  him  by  some 


THE  PROGRESSIVE  PARTY  177 

of  his  critics,  it  would  have  led  him  then  to  ac- 
cept a  nomination  which  his  party  was  ready 
to  thrust  upon  him.  What  a  personal  triumph 
it  would  have  been  from  the  point  of  view  of 
the  ambitious  man  to  hold  the  office  for  practi- 
cally three  consecutive  terms,  something  that  no 
president  had  ever  done,  and  yet  Roosevelt 
turned  away  from  it.  On  the  evening  of  the 
election  in  1904,  when  his  election  was  assured, 
he  said :  — 

"  The  wise  custom  which  limits  the  President 
to  two  terms  regards  the  substance  and  not  the 
form,  and  under  no  circumstances  will  I  be  a 
candidate  for  or  accept  another  nomination." 

And  he  repeated  the  statement  in  December, 
1907,  and  devoted  himself,  with  all  his  energy, 
to  aiding  in  the  nomination  of  Mr.  Taft.  Not 
only  that,  but  every  precaution  was  taken  to  pre- 
vent the  stampeding  to  Roosevelt  of  the  1908 
Convention,  of  which  there  was  always  danger. 
His  trusted  personal  and  political  friend,  Sena- 
tor Henry  Cabot  Lodge,  was  chairman  of  the  con- 
vention, occupying  that  position  for  two  pur- 
poses —  to  make  impossible  the  nomination  of 
Roosevelt,  to  make  certain  the  nomination  of 
Taft.  In  his  speech  Senator  Lodge  said :  — 

"  That  man  is  no  friend  of  Theodore  Roose- 
velt and  does  not  cherish  his  name  and  fame  who, 
now,  from  any  motive,  seeks  to  urge  him  as  a 
candidate  for  the  great  office  which  he  has  finally 
declined.  The  President  has  refused  what  his 
countrymen  would  have  gladly  given  him.  He 
says  what  he  means  and  means  what  he  says, 


i;8         ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

and  his  party  and  country  will  respect  his  wishes, 
as  they  honor  his  high  character  and  his  great 
public  services." 

There  is  no  evidence  of  which  I  ever  heard 
that  Roosevelt  on  his  European  trip  gave  a 
thought  to  the  nomination  in  1912.  Upon  his  re- 
turn in  May,  1910,  at  a  public  dinner  given  for 
him  in  New  York,  he  said :  — 

"  I  am  ready  and  eager  to  do  my  part,  so  far 
as  I  am  able,  in  helping  solve  problems  which 
must  be  solved  if  we,  in  this  the  greatest  demo- 
cratic republic  upon  which  the  sun  has  ever 
shone,  are  to  see  its  destinies  rise  to  the  high 
level  of  our  hopes  and  its  opportunities." 

I  think  the  suggestion  here  that  he  was  "  ready 
and  eager  to  do  his  part "  gave  some  anxiety  to 
his  friends,  who  were  more  jealous  than  he  of 
his  great  fame.  This  anxiety  was  increased  two 
months  later  when  at  Harvard  Commencement, 
as  president  of  the  Alumni  Association,  Roose- 
velt, at  the  request  of  Governor  Hughes,  of  New 
York  sent  the  following  telegram  to  Mr.  Gris- 
com,  Chairman  of  the  Republican  State  Commit- 
tee:— 

"During  the  last  week,  great  numbers  of  Re- 
publicans and  independent  voters  from  all  over 
the  State  (New  York)  have  written  me  urging 
the  passage  of  Direct  Primary  legislation.  I 
have  seen  Governor  Hughes  and  have  learned 
your  views  from  your  representative.  It  seems 


THE  PROGRESSIVE  PARTY  179 

to  me  that  the  Cobb  Bill,  with  the  amendments 
proposed  by  you,  meets  the  needs  of  the  situation. 
I  believe  that  the  people  demand  it.  I  most 
earnestly  hope  that  it  will  be  enacted  into  law." 

Roosevelt  was  again  in  politics,  to  the  regret,  I 
think,  of  many  of  his  friends,  and  to  his  own  sur- 
prise, I  firmly  believe.  This  was  his  explana- 
tion of  it  at  the  time.  In  introducing  Governor 
Hughes  at  the  Alumni  luncheon,  Roosevelt  said : 

"  Our  Governor  has  a  very  persuasive  away 
with  him.  I  had  intended  to  keep  absolutely 
clear  from  any  kind  of  public  or  political  ques- 
tion after  coming  home,  and  I  could  carry  out 
my  resolution  all  right  until  I  met  the  Governor 
this  morning,  and  he  then  explained  to  me  that  I 
had  come  back  to  live  in  New  York  now ;  that  I 
had  to  help  him  out,  and  after  a  very  brief  con- 
versation, I  put  up  my  hands  and  agreed  to  help 
him." 

In  October  of  that  year,  Roosevelt  was  Chair- 
man of  the  New  York  Republican  State  Conven- 
tion, defeating  James  S.  Sherman,  then  Vice- 
President  of  the  United  States.  Mr.  Stimson 
was  nominated  for  governor  as  a  Roosevelt 
candidate  and  was  defeated  by  100,000  votes.  In 
commenting  on  the  election,  Roosevelt  said  at  a 
later  period,  when  he  had  become  a  candidate  for 
the  Republican  nomination  for  President :  — 

"  In  that  contest,  as  in  this,  I  was  exceedingly 
reluctant  to  be  drawn  into  the  contest.  In  that 
contest,  as  in  this,  I  acted  only  from  a  sense  of 


i8o         ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

duty  to  the  people  as  a  whole,  and  in  that  con- 
test I  was  assailed  with  precisely  the  same  argu- 
ments by  the  great  majority  of  those  who  are 
now  assailing  me.  If  I  had  considered  only  my 
own  personal  interests  and  personal  preferences, 
I  could,  of  course,  have  kept  out  of  the  1910 
campaign,  have  let  the  machine  remain  in  con- 
trol at  Saratoga,  and  have  seen  the  State  go 
Democratic  by  300,000  majority,  as  under  those 
circumstances  it  certainly  would  have  gone.  I 
went  in  because  I  conscientiously  felt  that  it  was 
my  duty  to  take  part  in  the  fight  for  honest 
government,  for  genuine  self-government  by  the 
people,  without  regard  to  the  consequences  to 
myself,  and  I  am  in  this  fight  on  precisely  the 
same  basis  and  for  precisely  the  same  reasons." 

As  the  convention  of  1912  drew  near,  there 
was  much  speculation  as  to  whether  Roosevelt 
would  be  a  candidate  or  not.  Many  people  re- 
garded his  statement  which  I  have  quoted  as  a 
bar  to  his  doing  so.  It  was  obviously  open  to 
the  construction  that  he  would  never  under  any 
circumstances  at  any  time  be  a  candidate.  As  to 
what  it  was  intended  to  express,  Mr.  Loeb,  who 
was  Roosevelt's  secretary  at  the  time,  has  told  me 
that  when  the  statement  was  drafted,  it  was  sug- 
gested that  it  be  limited  in  express  terms  to  the 
election  of  1908,  but  that  was  disapproved  for 
the  reason  that  a  declaration  that  Roosevelt 
would  not  run  in  1908  would  be  accepted  as 
tantamount  to  a  statement  that  he  would  run  in 
1912,  which  Roosevelt  then  had  no  intention  of 
doing,  nor  had  he  any  intention  of  saying  any- 


THE  PROGRESSIVE  PARTY  181 

thing  that  would  not  leave  him  free  after  1908. 
A  reporter  present  asked  Roosevelt  if  this  ap- 
plied to  1912.  He  replied:  — 

"  Now,  gentlemen,  that  is  something  I  don't 
intend  to  speak  about.  You  accept  my  statement 
just  as  I  have  made  it." 

A  prominent  newspaper  man  recently  said  to 
me: 

"  At  that  time  none  of  the  correspondents 
dreamed  of  interpreting  his  refusal  to  be  a  candi- 
date as  applying  to  any  other  year  than  1908.  It 
was  made  to  set  at  rest  the  rumors  that  he  would 
try  to  succeed  himself  at  the  end  of  the  term  to 
which  he  had  just  been  elected,  and  none  of  us 
interpreted  it  in  any  other  way.  Not  until  he 
began  to  be  talked  of  as  a  candidate  in  1912  did 
anybody  try  to  make  it  appear  that  his  1904  state- 
ment was  intended  to  cover  all  the  rest  of  his  life 
so  as  to  bar  him  forever  from  running." 

I  regard  the  episode  as  unfortunate,  but  as  in 
no  way  reflecting  upon  Roosevelt's  good  faith. 

I  had  a  long  talk  with  Roosevelt  in  November, 
1911.  I  spoke  to  him  of  the  convention  and  of 
his  possible  candidacy.  He  said,  in  substance, 
that  he  did  not  want  to  be  a  candidate  —  that 
he  did  not  want  the  office  again,  and  that  he  be- 
lieved that  it  would  be  a  great  risk  for  him  to 
take  it,  and  that  he  had  no  idea  that  conditions 
would  arise  that  would  make  it  necessary.  If, 
however,  such  conditions  should  arise  and  it 


i82        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

should  become  in  his  opinion  a  duty,  he  would 
not  decline  to  be  drafted.  As  late  as  December, 
1911,  he  wrote  to  influential  men  of  the  party 
in  Washington  urging  them  to  do  everything  they 
could  to  stop  any  mention  of  his  name  in  con- 
nection with  the  office.  I  talked  with  him  again 
in  January,  1912,  and  again  he  said  he  did  not 
want  the  nomination,  he  doubted  if  any  Re- 
publican could  be  elected,  and  that  he  person- 
ally had  everything  to  lose  and  nothing  to  gain 
if  he  should  enter  the  contest,  but  again  he  said 
that  if  there  should  be  an  uprising  of  the  peo- 
ple, which  he  did  not  anticipate,  he  might  con- 
sider it.  When  I  asked  him  why  he  did  not  say 
that  under  no  circumstances  would  he  accept 
the  office  if  it  were  tendered  him, —  and  be  it  re- 
membered that  I  was  in  favor  of  Mr.  Taft's 
nomination, —  he  said,  in  substance,  "  I  had  to 
eat  my  words  once  in  connection  with  the  Vice- 
Presidency,  and  I  don't  want  to  run  any  chance 
of  having  to  do  it  again." 

During  all  this  time  the  supporters  of  all  the 
candidates  had  been  hard  at  work  to  secure  dele- 
gates, but  nothing  was  done  by  Roosevelt,  nor 
did  he  want  anything  done.  He  stated  over  and 
over  again  that  he  did  not  want  anything  done 
and  wanted  nothing  left  undone  that  would  pre- 
vent anything  being  done. 

Meantime,  as  he  has  told  me,  Republican  gov- 
ernors of  several  States  were  writing  him  and 
seeing  him,  urging  that  he  be  a  candidate.  He 
told  them  that  he  was  not  convinced  that  there 
was  any  popular  demand  for  his  candidacy. 
Gradually,  however,  through  all  kinds  of  inter- 


THE  PROGRESSIVE  PARTY  183 

views,  through  all  kinds  of  articles  in  the  papers, 
through  all  kinds  of  letters  and  other  communi- 
cations, he  became  convinced,  by  a  sort  of 
cumulative  process,  that  two-thirds  of  the  rank 
and  file  of  the  Republican  party  wished  him  to 
run;  and  further,  that  unless  he  made  the  fight 
for  the  principles  in  which  he  believed  with  all  his 
heart  and  soul,  there  would  be  no  fight  at  all 
made  for  them.  He  was  in  this  state  of  mind 
when,  on  February  10,  1912,  at  a  meeting  in 
Chicago,  the  Republican  governors  of  seven 
States,  West  Virginia,  Nebraska,  New  Hamp- 
shire, Wyoming,  Michigan,  Kansas,  and  Mis- 
souri, asked  Roosevelt  in  the  following  letter  to 
become  a  candidate  for  the  presidency :  — 

"  We,  the  undersigned  Republican  governors, 
assembled  for  the  purpose  of  considering  what 
will  best  insure  the  continuation  of  the  Republi- 
can party  as  a  useful  agency  of  good  govern- 
ment, declare  it  our  belief,  after  a  careful  in- 
vestigation of  the  facts,  that  a  large  majority  of 
the  Republican  voters  of  the  country  favor  your 
nomination,  and  a  large  majority  of  the  people 
favor  your  election,  as  the  next  President  of  the 
United  States. 

"  We  believe  that  your  candidacy  will  insure 
success  in  the  next  campaign.  We  believe  that 
you  represent,  as  no  other  man  represents,  those 
principles  and  policies  upon  which  we  must  ap- 
peal for  a  majority  of  the  votes  of  the  Ameri- 
can people,  and  which,  in  our  opinion,  are  neces- 
sary for  the  happiness  and  prosperity  of  the 
country. 


i&4        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

"  We  believe  that,  in  view  of  this  public  de- 
mand, you  should  soon  declare  whether,  if  the 
nomination  for  the  Presidency  come  to  you  un- 
solicited and  unsought,  you  will  accept  it. 

"  In  submitting  this  request  we  are  not  con- 
sidering your  personal  interests.  We  do  not  re- 
gard it  as  proper  to  consider  either  the  interests 
or  the  preference  of  any  man  as  regards  the 
nomination  for  the  Presidency.  We  are  ex- 
pressing our  sincere  belief  and  best  judgment  as 
to  what  is  demanded  of  you  in  the  interests  of 
the  people  as  a  whole.  And  we  feel  that  you 
would  be  unresponsive  to  a  plain  public  duty  if 
you  should  decline  to  accept  the  nomination,  com- 
ing as  the  voluntary  expression  of  the  wishes  of 
a  majority  of  the  Republican  voters  of  the  United 
States,  through  the  action  of  their  delegates  in 
the  next  National  Convention." 

With  the  knowledge  that  he  would  be  a  candi- 
date, Roosevelt  made,  on  February  21,  1912,  his 
Columbus  speech  on  "  A  Charter  of  Democracy," 
in  which,  among  other  things,  he  advocated  the 
recall  of  judicial  decisions.  This  speech  alien- 
ated hundreds  of  thousands  of  Republican  votes. 
He  did  not  need  to  make  it  to  secure  the  votes 
of  radicals  —  those  were  his  already.  He  must 
have  known,  as  well  as  any  one,  what  the  result 
would  be.  And  then,  when  he  had  left  nothing 
undone  and  had  done  everything  to  make  his 
nomination  in  a  Republican  Convention  impos- 
sible, he  replied,  under  date  of  February  24, 
1912,  to  the  letter  of  the  seven  governors,  as  fol- 
lows :  — 


THE  PROGRESSIVE  PARTY  185 

"  I  deeply  appreciate  your  letter,  and  I  realize 
to  the  full  the  heavy  responsibility  it  puts  upon 
me,  expressing  as  it  does  the  carefully  consid- 
ered convictions  of  the  men  elected  by  popular 
vote  to  stand  as  the  heads  of  government  in  their 
several  States. 

"  I  absolutely  agree  with  you  that  this  matter 
is  not  one  to  be  decided  with  any  reference  to  the 
personal  preferences  or  interests  of  any  man, 
but  purely  from  the  standpoints  of  the  interests 
of  the  people  as  a  whole.  I  will  accept  the  nomi- 
nation for  President  if  it  is  tendered  to  me,  and 
I  will  adhere  to  this  decision  until  the  conven- 
tion has  expressed  its  preference.  One  of  the 
chief  principles  for  which  I  have  stood  and  for 
which  I  now  stand,  and  which  I  have  always  en- 
deavored and  always  shall  endeavor  to  reduce  to 
action,  is  the  genuine  rule  of  the  people ;  and 
therefore  I  hope  that  so  far  as  possible  the  peo- 
ple may  be  given  the  chance,  through  direct 
primaries,  to  express  their  preference  as  to  who 
shall  be  the  nominee  of  the  Republican  Presi- 
dential Convention." 

It  is  my  conviction  that  Roosevelt  entered  this 
campaign  without  any  desire  to  gratify  a  per- 
sonal ambition,  but  as  the  leader  of  a  cause  in 
which  he  believed  and  without  any  thought  as  to 
how  his  personal  fortunes  would  be  affected. 
Recently  he  wrote  me  : 

"You  know  that  1912  really  represented 
merely  the  goal  of  thought  for  which  I  had  al- 
ways been  heading.  From  my  standpoint  it  was 


186        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

merely  the  effort  to  apply  the  principles  of  Abra- 
ham Lincoln  to  the  conditions  of  the  twentieth 
century." 

His  political  creed  is  contained  in  the  Carnegie 
Hall  Address  of  March  20,  1912,  in  which  he 
said  toward  the  close :  — 

"  In  order  to  succeed  we  need  leaders  of  in- 
spired idealism,  leaders  to  whom  are  granted 
great  visions,  who  dream  greatly  and  strive  to 
make  their  dreams  come  true ;  who  can  kindle  the 
people  with  the  fire  from  their  own  burning 
souls.  The  leader  for  the  time  being,  whoever 
he  may  be,  is  but  an  instrument,  to  be  used  until 
broken  and  then  to  be  cast  aside;  and  if  he  is 
worth  his  salt  he  will  care  no  more  when  he  is 
broken  than  a  soldier  cares  when  he  is  sent 
where  his  life  is  forfeit  in  order  that  the  victory 
may  be  won.  In  the  long  fight  for  righteousness 
the  watchword  for  all  of  us  is,  spend  and  be 
spent.  It  is  of  little  matter  whether  any  one 
man  fails  or  succeeds ;  but  the  cause  shall  not 
fail,  for  it  is  the  cause  of  mankind." 

This  expressed  his  state  of  mind.  Many  of 
his  friends  would  have  preferred  to  have  him 
preserve  the  great  fame  that  was  his,  undimmed 
by  any  conflict  in  the  political  arena  that  might 
well  lead  to  reverses.  He  chose  for  himself  the 
other  course.  "  In  the  long  fight  for  righteous- 
ness, the  watchword  for  all  of  us  is,  spend  and 
be  spent.  It  is  of  little  matter  whether  any  one 


THE  PROGRESSIVE  PARTY  187 

man  fails  or  succeeds,  but  the  cause  shall  not 
fail,  for  it  is  the  cause  of  mankind." 

The  campaign  itself  constitutes,  said  the  New 
York  Tribune,  "  the  most  sensational  chapter  in 
the  history  of  the  Republican  Party."  Mr. 
Roosevelt,  after  having  obtained  a  very  large  ma- 
jority of  the  vote  in  the  primaries  in  his  contest 
against  Mr.  Taft,  was  nevertheless  denied  the 
regular  nomination  because  of  the  action  of  the 
Republican  National  Committee  in  unseating 
Roosevelt  delegates  and  qualifying  Taft  dele- 
gates. 

;,.On  a  night  never  to  be  forgotten  Mr.  Roose- 
velt's partisans,  obtaining  consent  from  their 
leader  at  the  Hotel  Blackstone,  arose  in  a  body, 
left  the  convention  hall,  entered  a  hall  of  their 
own,  formed  the  Progressive  party  and  named 
the  Colonel  as  their  standard  bearer  with  Hiram 
Johnson  of  California  as  their  candidate  for 
vice-president. 

A  national  organization  was  hurriedly  formed, 
and  every  State,  country  and  town  formed  the 
best  organization  possible  on  short  notice.  A 
regular  convention  was  called  for  August  5,  1912. 
The  delegates,  who  appeared  to  be  as  earnest  as 
religious  zealots  in  their  plan  to  win  victory  at 
the  polls,  confirmed  the  action  of  June  19,  and 
formally  nominated  Roosevelt  as  their  candidate, 
with  Governor  Hiram  Johnson,  of  California,  as 
his  running  mate. 

Roosevelt  plunged  into  the  three-cornered  cam- 
paign against  Wilson  and  Taft  with  all  the  vigor 


i88        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

that  had  characterized  his  earlier  campaigns.  An 
explosive  utterance  in  which  he  said  that  he  felt 
"  like  a  Bull  Moose  "  gave  a  nickname  to  the 
new  party.  Roosevelt  toured  the  country,  direct- 
ing most  of  his  batteries  against  President  Taft 
and  the  standpat  element  in  both  parties,  which 
he  attacked  with  entire  impartiality. 

Suddenly  his  speech-making  tour  was  cut 
short  by  a  sensational  attack  on  his  life.  He  had 
reached  Milwaukee  in  his  swing  through  the 
country,  and  was  just  seating  himself  in  an 
automobile  for  the  drive  to  the  auditorium, 
where  he  was  to  deliver  an  important  address, 
when  Schrank  sent  the  bullet  into  his  chest  at 
short  range. 

On  the  instant  there  was  a  movement  to  deal 
summarily  with  Schrank,  but  Colonel  Roosevelt 
was  cool,  and  himself  restrained  the  crowd  until 
Schrank  was  taken  properly  into  custody. 

The  bullet,  having  passed  through  the  candi- 
date's heavy  overcoat  and  his  other  clothing,  fifty 
pages  of  manuscript  and  his  spectacle  case,  had 
penetrated  only  two  inches  into  the  right  breast. 
He  was  able  to  proceed  to  the  auditorium,  and 
against  the  advice  of  friends  and  physicians 
made  a  speech  lasting  fifty-three  minutes. 

This  feat,  which  drew  the  applause  of  the 
world  and  caused  all  Americans,  irrespective  of 
their  political  beliefs,  to  glory  in  such  an  in- 
domitable will  and  such  fortitude,  seemed  to  pro- 
duce no  ill  effects.  The  candidate  went  to  his 
home  at  Oyster  Bay  within  a  week  after  being 
taken  to  a  hospital  in  Chicago,  and  there  con- 
tinued his  campaign  by  statements  and  messages 


THE  PROGRESSIVE  PARTY  189 

to  his  followers  through  prominent  Progressive 
political  leaders. 

As  all  far-seeing  men  anticipated,  he  was  de- 
feated, the  impossibility  of  overcoming  a  soli- 
tary Democracy  by  the  divided  efforts  of  its 
antagonist  party  being  clearly  visioned ;  but 
nevertheless  Colonel  Roosevelt  made  a  wonder- 
ful race  against  the  victor,  Woodrow  Wilson,  and 
his  Republican  rival,  Mr.  Taft.  He  received 
more  than  4,000,000  votes  and  proved  absolutely 
that  he  had  a  hold  upon  a  vast  section  of  the 
American  people  that  nothing  could  break. 

Again,  in  1916,  an  unmistakable  call  came  from 
all  parts  of  the  country  that  Mr.  Roosevelt 
should  run  for  the  presidency.  He  would  have 
taken  the  nomination  if  Progressives  and  Re- 
publicans could  join  in  making  it.  He  wanted 
to  unite  the  factions  and  end  party  strife.  He 
felt  that  the  Nation  sorely  needed  a  strong  Re- 
publican party,  able  to  win,  and  capable  of  as- 
suming the  great  tasks  and  responsibilities  of 
the  war. 

But  the  sentiment  of  regular  Republican 
leaders  was  unalterably  opposed  to  his  selec- 
tion. They  could  not  forget  1912.  They  went 
to  Chicago  with  delegations  that  nothing  could 
sway  or  stampede  from  a  coldly  resolved  upon 
course.  At  the  same  time  the  Progressive  party 
met  in  Chicago  with  one  candidate  —  Roosevelt, 
though  it  delayed  naming  him  until  it  could  see 
what  the  Republicans  would  do.  They  were 
eventful,  thrilling  days,  though  the  outcome  was 
disappointment  for  Roosevelt  and  the  host  who 
demanded  his  nomination. 


IQO        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

The  Republicans  named  Charles  E.  Hughes, 
taking  him  from  the  bench  of  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  United  States,  after  it  had  declined  to 
listen  to  Colonel  Roosevelt's  suggestion  to  nomi- 
nate either  Senator  Henry  Cabot  Lodge  or  Gen- 
eral Leonard  Wood.  At  Colonel  Roosevelt's 
own  insistence,  which  virtually  dissolved  the 
Progressive  party  then  and  there,  his  name  was 
eliminated  by  them  and  they  named  a  candidate 
for  vice-president  only. 

Mr.  Wilson  was  reflected,  though  by  the  nar- 
rowest margin  and  largely  on  the  score  of  his 
persistent  promise  to  keep  the  country  out  of  the 
European  war  that  had  been  raging  for  two 
years. 

m* 

CHAPTER  XII 

THE   VOICE   THAT    ROUSED    THE    NATION'S    SOUL 

THREE  months  after  Theodore  Roosevelt's 
return  from  Brazil,  the  great  horror  which  the 
world  had  thought  impossible  suddenly  became  a 
reality,  and  the  principal  nations  of  Europe  were 
plunged  in  war.  Such  a  thing  had  been  declared 
to  be  "  unthinkable."  Organizations,  endow- 
ments, philanthropists,  and  writers  had  been 
more  than  ever  active  in  working  for  the  ideal  of 
"  world  peace,"  while  plans  of  frightfulness  and 
conquest  were  being  brought  to  completion  in  the 
secret  chambers  of  the  Huns. 

Roosevelt  was  quick  to  see  the  menace  to 
America  and  to  urge  immediate  preparation  to 
meet  it,  but  again  the  chorus  of  peace  believers 


ROUSING  THE  NATION'S  SOUL          191 

protested  that  although  the  "  unthinkable  "  had 
really  come  to  pass  in  Europe,  it  was  still  un- 
thinkable and  impossible  in  America.  We  were 
perfectly  safe  and  had  nothing  to  do  with  the 
quarrels  of  Europe. 

But  the  great  awakener  of  the  Nation's  soul 
would  not  be  stilled.  Jealous  guardianship  of 
the  honor  of  the  United  States  was  Colonel 
Roosevelt's  watchword,  declared  the  New  York 
Tribune,  from  the  outbreak,  in  August,  1914,  of 
the  world  war.  Patriotism  was  the  motto  spelled 
by  his  speeches  and  preparedness  was  demanded 
with  an  earnestness  into  which  he  threw  every 
energy  of  mind  and  body.  The  Sun,  New  York, 
recalls  the  fact  that  except  for  a  few  weeks  at 
the  outset  of  the  great  conflict,  when  he  held 
himself  in  check  because  of  the  President's  pro- 
nouncement for  perfect  neutrality,  he  was  never 
at  a  loss  as  to  the  real  meaning  of  the  conflict,  as 
to  the  brutal  ambition  of  the  Central  Powers,  as 
to  the  peril  not  only  to  Europe  but  to  America 
herself  if  the  Germans  should  win. 

He  arose  in  all  of  the  energy  and  might  of  his 
intellect  and  called  upon  America  to  awake  to  a 
realization  of  her  peril,  The  Sun  continues.  He 
burned  with  anger  at  the  injustice  of  the  invasion 
of  Belgium,  at  the  enormities  practiced  there  and 
in  France  or  wherever  the  German  foot  trod. 
He  spoke  in  blasting  anger  against  the  U-boat 
warfare  that  destroyed  American  ships  and  lives 
as  nonchalantly  as  it  destroyed  the  ships  and 
lives  of  the  then  belligerent  powers.  He  had  no 
patience  with  President  Wilson's  slow-going, 
tolerant  attitude  toward  the  war. 


192        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

There  were  times  that  he  assailed  the  Presi- 
dent and  the  Administration  bitterly,  when  he 
called  for  proper  preparation  against  the  looming 
peril,  when  he  called  for  universal  military  serv- 
ice and  a  great  navy,  when  he  demanded  that  we 
do  something  more  than  pretend  a  neutrality  that 
more  than  nine-tenths  of  the  country  abominated. 

He  was  busy  with  the  trial  at  Syracuse  the 
day  the  Lusitania  was  sunk  on  May  7,  1915,  and 
that  night  he  dictated  to  the  writer  of  The  Sun 
the  statement  that  rang  through  America  as  to 
what  America's  plain  duty  had  become.  He 
would  have  sent  Von  BernstorfT  out  of  the  coun- 
try, seized  the  German  merchant  marine  and  got 
ready  for  the  stern  business  of  protecting  Amer- 
ican honor. 

All  of  these  things  eventuated,  but  it  can  never 
be  forgotten  that  Roosevelt  sensed  thus  early  the 
morality  and  the  practicability  of  their  immedi- 
ate operation. 

When  war  came  he  at  once  gave  proof,  says 
the  New  York  Tribune,  that  his  eternal  slogan 
of  patriotism  was  no  mere  catch  phrase.  All 
four  of  his  sons  immediately  began  training  to 
go  into  action  against  the  Germans.  Their 
father  was  also  eager  to  fight. 

He  wanted  to  recruit  a  volunteer  army  for 
service  in  France,  to  be  sent  over  before  the 
draft  army  could  be  gotten  into  shape.  The 
idea  struck  a  tremendously  popular  chord  in  this 
country.  It  was  estimated  that  200,000  men  vol- 
unteered to  go  with  the  Colonel. 

The  more  popular  the  Colonel's  plan  became 
over  the  country  the  more  unpopular  it  became 


ROUSING  THE  NATION'S  SOUL          193 

in  some  Washington  circles,  and  particularly  at 
the  White  House.  President  Wilson  was  une- 
quivocally opposed  to  the  Colonel's  plan  from 
the  start. 

Colonel  Roosevelt  and  his  friends  fought  to 
the  last  ditch  for  this  volunteer  army  for  France. 
They  argued  that  France  needed  help  immedi- 
ately, and  promised  to  start  one  division  toward 
France  within  four  months.  They  agreed  to  ac- 
cept no  volunteers  subject  to  the  draft.  They 
even  promised  the  army  would  be  financed  at  the 
start  —  armed  and  equipped  —  from  private 
funds.  And  the  War  Department  was  assured 
that  the  Colonel  did  not  want  to  lead  the  army ; 
that  he  would  be  satisfied  to  be  the  junior  briga- 
dier-general in  command  of  one  of  the  brigades. 
Congress,  in  passing  the  draft  law,  included  in 
the  law  a  provision  which  left  the  way  open 
for  the  Colonel  to  raise  his  army,  provided  the 
Administration  would  consent. 

But  President  Wilson  declined  to  avail  him- 
self of  this  provision,  and  the  Colonel  stayed  at 
home.  Colonel  Roosevelt  thereupon  urged  those 
who  had  volunteered  to  go  with  him  to  enlist  in 
the  regular  army. 

As  soon  as  this  country  entered  the  war  Col- 
onel Roosevelt  began  to  lay  stress  on  the  impera- 
tive necessity  of  rushing  American  troops  to 
France.  He  advocated  immediate  passage  of  a 
conscription  bill  and  denounced  plans  to  hold  the 
entire  American  forces  here  until  they  had  been 
trained.  Realizing  the  terrific  gain  in  morale 
which  their  presence  would  give  to  troops  of  the 
Allies,  he  urged  that  at  least  one  complete  Ameri- 


194        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

can  division  be  sent  to  the  front  at  the  earliest 
moment,  that  its  numbers  be  kept  full  and  that 
other  divisions  be  placed  side  by  side  with  it 
when  possible  to  send  them  over. 

"  As  a  matter  of  fact,"  he  said,  "  half  their 
training  should  be  given  our  troops  on  the  other 
side  of  the  water." 

At  the  same  time  he  made  a  strong  appeal  to 
all  Republicans  to  support  the  Administration  in 
pushing  the  war  to  a  successful  conclusion.  He 
never  ceased,  both  in  his  speeches  and  in  his 
magazine  articles,  to  warn  the  country  to  mobi- 
lize all  its  resources  —  men,  food  and  munitions 
—  and  never  ceased  to  point  out  any  action  by 
the  Administration  which  he  thought  might  im- 
pair American  effectiveness. 

Up  to  the  conclusion  of  the  war  he  gave 
strenuous  opposition  to  any  peace  plan  which 
would  allow  German  militarism  again  to  en- 
danger the  world. 

Of  nothing  was  he  prouder  than  of  the  spirit 
shown  by  his  four  sons  when  they  responded  to 
their  country's  call.  On  the  very  day  he  re- 
ceived news  of  the  death  of  his  son,  Quentin, 
killed  in  an  air  battle  with  a  German  aviator  in 
France,  Colonel  Roosevelt  sent  a  letter  to  the 
soldiers  in  France  saying  he  "  would  give  any- 
thing to  be  over  with  you." 

"  I  send  my  heartiest  greeting  to  you  men  at 
the  front,"  he  wrote.  "  You  have  made  all  of 
us  who  stay  behind  lift  our  heads  high  with  pride 
by  what  you  are  doing.  It  is  you  men,  and  only 
you  men,  who  are  doing  the  one  vital  work  for 
the  American  people  to-day.  All  good  Ameri- 


ROUSING  THE  NATION'S  SOUL          195 

cans  at  this  time  owe  homage  to  the  fighting 
men  at  the  fighting  front.  What  you  are  doing 
is  vital  for  the  honor  and  interest,  for  the  future 
welfare  and  for  the  very  existence  of  our  repub- 
lic, and  you  are  also  battling  for  the  very  ex- 
istence of  every  well-behaved,  civilized  nation  big 
or  little.  I  congratulate  you  on  the  great  good 
fortune  that  is  yours  in  that  you  now  have  the 
chance  to  endure  the  hardship  and  peril  for  that 
great  ideal  and  to  render  to  our  country  the 
greatest  of  all  services.  I  would  give  anything 
to  be  over  with  you." 

In  1917,  Colonel  Roosevelt  requested  the 
House  of  Representatives  to  return  the  $40,000 
Nobel  Peace  prize  voted  him  after  the  Ports- 
mouth treaty  ending  the  Russo-Japanese  War. 
He  never  had  touched  this  money,  but  had  given 
it  to  the  House  of  Representatives  to  found  an 
industrial  fund.  This,  however,  never  had  been 
done.  He  asked  the  return  of  the  money  that  it 
might  be  devoted  to  war  work. 

In  one  of  his  last  addresses  he  said  "  Pacifism 
and  unpreparedness  never  kept  a  nation  out  of 
war.  They  invite  war  and  insure  that  if  war 
comes  it  shall  be  costly,  long  drawn  out  and 
bloody." 

Though  Colonel  Roosevelt  was  not  allowed  to 
go  to  war  himself  with  a  division  of  volunteers 
which  he  had  recruited  among  his  admirers,  his 
four  sons,  one  of  whom  gave  his  life,  and  a  son- 
in-law,  Dr.  Richard  Derby,  represented  him. 
Two  of  his  sons  were  wounded ;  all  distinguished 
themselves. 


ip6        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

Quentin  was  killed  in  an  air  battle  on  the 
western  front.  His  machine  was  shot  down  by 
a  German  aviator,  experienced  and  skilled,  with 
a  record  of  thirty-two  planes  downed  to  his 
credit.  Young  Roosevelt,  though  skilled,  was 
inexperienced,  his  adversary  said  after  he  and 
brother  officers  had  buried  and  marked  the  grave 
of  Quentin.  The  victor  paid  tribute  to  him  in 
saying  that  he  had  fought  courageously  and  gal- 
lantly. Colonel  Roosevelt  wished  that  his  son's 
body  remain  in  the  soil  that  he  had  sought  to 
free.  "  Let  the  tree  lie  where  it  falls,"  he  said 
when  asked  if  Quentin's  body  would  be  brought 
home. 

Archie  and  Theodore,  Jr.,  were  cited  for 
bravery  in  action  and  Kermit  distinguished  him- 
self while  righting  with  the  British  forces  in 
Mesopotamia.  At  his  own  request,  when  the 
United  States  entered  the  war,  Kermit  was  trans- 
ferred to  our  army. 

In  the  fighting  before  Toul,  Archie  was 
wounded.  He  so  distinguished  himself  that 
General  Pershing  personally  recommended  him 
for  promotion  to  a  captaincy,  which  he  subse- 
quently got,  and  he  was  cited  for  gallantry  in 
action,  too.  He  was  a  second  lieutenant  when 
he  went  into  action.  While  leading  his  men  he 
was  hit  by  shrapnel  that  injured  both  a  leg  and 
an  arm.  He  was  taken  to  a  Paris  hospital,  and 
while  there  learned  that  he  had  been  awarded  the 
French  War  Cross. 

Theodore,  Jr.,  was  wounded  while  he  and  his 
detachment  «were  wiping  out  machine-gun  nests 
near  Plerisy,  in  the  Soissons  sector,  in  July. 


ROUSING  THE  NATION'S  SOUL         197 

Shrapnel  was  imbedded  in  Major  Roosevelt's 
knee  but  he  would  not  allow  himself  to  be  moved 
until  the  nests  were  cleaned  out.  He  was  taken 
to  a  hospital  back  of  the  lines  and  then  trans- 
ferred to  a  Paris  hospital,  where  an  operation 
was  performed.  He  afterward  was  promoted  to 
lieutenant-colonel  and  was  cited  for  gallantry. 
His  wife,  one  of  the  few  who  managed  to  get  to 
their  husbands  fighting  in  France,  reached  him 
there.  She  was  engaged  in  war  work.  During 
the  same  month,  July,  Quentin  was  killed. 

When  the  Americans  started  preparing  for  the 
war,  Kermit  and  his  wife  had  just  returned 
from  Argentina,  where  he  had  gone  to  help  estab- 
lish a  branch  of  the  National  City  Bank.  He 
immediately  enlisted  in  the  officers'  training 
camp  at  Plattsburg.  While  there  he  was  of- 
fered a  commission  with  the  British  forces.  He 
accepted  and  later  was  cited  in  British  dispatches, 
but  when  the  American  army  crossed  the  ocean 
he  had  himself  transferred  to  fight  under  his 
own  flag.' 

Archie  abandoned  his  business  in  a  carpet  fac- 
tory in  Connecticut,  where  Theodore,  Jr.,  had 
started  his  career  several  years  previously,  and 
also  went  to  Plattsburg.  Archie  won  a  second 
lieutenancy.  Both  Archie  and  Theodore,  Jr., 
were  among  the  first  to  go  to  France.  Theodore, 
Jr.,  was  prospering  in  the  oil  well  business  when 
he  abandoned  it  for  his  country. 

Theodore  Roosevelt,  who  was  refused  any 
personal  participation  in  the  great  war,  was  called 
by  former  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court,  Charles 
E.  Hughes,  "the  greatest  hero  of  the  war." 


198        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

The  following  tributes  to  his  noble  share  in 
America's  greatest  task  are  just  a  few  from  the 
thousands  which  were  uttered  after  his  death. 
They  are  quoted  here  as  a  necessary  part  of  the 
record  of  Mr.  Roosevelt's  greatest  service  to  his 
country. 

Ex-Justice  Charles  E.  Hughes,  speaking  before 
the  Republican  Club,  New  York : 

"  The  greatest  desire  of  his  life  was  denied  the 
Colonel  when  he  was  prevented  from  going  to 
the  front  and  actually  taking  part  in  the  strug- 
gle," said  Mr.  Hughes.  He  continued : 

"  We  can  but  faintly  imagine  the  measure  of 
his  disappointment,  but  we  may  conjecture  that 
it  had  no  small  share  in  hastening  the  final  break- 
down. His  country  at  war,  and  Roosevelt  at 
home !  That  was  the  crudest  blow  that  fate 
could  deal  him. 

"  But  if  he  could  not  fight  for  liberty  and  hu- 
manity on  the  western  front,  he  could  fight  with 
pen  and  voice  at  home.  There  was  not  a  mo- 
ment lost.  With  increasing  vigor  he  demanded 
adequate  forces,  adequate  equipment,  speed  and 
efficiency.  His  lash  knew  no  mercy,  but  it  was 
a  necessary  lash.  As  it  was,  we  were  just  in 
time.  How  late  we  should  have  been  had  it  not 
been  for  Roosevelt,  God  only  knows ! 

"  But  who  can  doubt  the  value  of  the  service 
of  that  insistent  demand  in  making  it  possible 
that  we  should  arrive  at  the  front  in  force  in 
time  to  make  the  last  great  German  drive  a 
failure?  He  quickened  the  national  conscious- 
ness, he  developed  the  sense  of  unity  and  when 
the  country  awoke  he  was  the  natural  leader  of 


ROUSING  THE  NATION'S  SOUL         199 

an  aroused  America.  His  priceless  service  at 
home  made  all  the  world  his  debtor. 

"  His  soul  revolted  at  the  wrongs  of  Belgium 
and  he  poured  out  his  scorn  upon  the  neutrality 
which  ignored  the  call  of  humanity  and  sacri- 
ficed the  self-respect  of  the  American  republic. 
When  the  Lusitania  was  sunk  in  May,  1915,  and 
Colonel  Roosevelt  demanded  action  with  imme- 
diate decision  and  vigor,  he  was  right,  and  had 
his  voice  prevailed  and  had  the  country  earlier 
shaken  off  its  lethargy,  millions  of  lives  and 
countless  treasure  might  have  been  spared. 

"  Of  inestimable  value  to  his  country  had  been 
his  service  in  office,  but  now  —  a  private  citizen 
—  he  was  to  perform  an  even  greater  service. 
To  a  hesitant  Administration  and  to  a  people 
lulled  into  a  false  security  and  lending  ear  to 
an  unworthy  pacifism,  he  preached  the  gospel  of 
preparedness.  Throughout  the  country  jour- 
neyed this  courageous  apostle  of  right  thinking, 
having  no  credentials  but  those  of  his  own  con- 
science and  patriotism,  and  by  his  pitiless  in- 
vective he  literally  compelled  action.  Back  of  all 
that  was  done  was  the  pressure  of  the  demand  of 
Roosevelt." 

Senator  Henry  Cabot  Lodge,  in  his  eulogy,  at 
the  National  Memorial  Service  of  the  United 
States  Government  in  Washington,  said: 

'  He  would  have  had  us  protest  and  take  action 
at  the  very  beginning,  in  1914,  when  Belgium 
was  invaded.  He  would  have  had  us  go  to  war 
when  the  murders  of  the  Lusitania  were  perpe- 
trated. He  tried  to  stir  the  soul  and  rouse  the 
spirit  of  the  American  people,  and  despite  every 


200        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

obstacle  he  did  awaken  them,  so  that  when  the 
hour  came,  in  April,  1917,  a  large  proportion  of 
the  American  people  were  even  then  ready  in 
spirit  and  in  hope. 

"  How  telling  his  work  has  been  was  proved 
by  the  confession  of  his  country's  enemies,  for 
when  he  died  the  only  discordant  note,  the  only 
harsh  words,  came  from  the  German  press. 
Germany  knew  whose  voice  it  was  that  had  more 
powerfully  than  any  other  called  Americans  to 
the  battle  in  behalf  of  freedom  and  civiliza- 
tion." 

Because  he  was  not  permitted  to  go  to  Eu- 
rope at  the  head  of  a  body  of  -soldiers,  said  Mr. 
Lodge,  Colonel  Roosevelt  was  denied  the  reward 
which  he  would  have  ranked  above  all  others, 
the  great  prize  of  death  in  battle.  He  con- 
tinued : 

"  But  he  was  a  patriot  in  every  fiber  of  his 
being,  and  personal  disappointment  in  no  man- 
ner slackened  or  cooled  his  zeal.  Everything 
that  he  could  do  to  forward  the  war,  to  quicken 
preparation,  to  stimulate  patriotism,  to  urge  on 
efficient  action,  was  done.  Day  and  night,  in 
season  and  out  of  season,  he  never  ceased  his 
labors.  Although  prevented  from  going  to 
France  himself,  he  gave  to  the  great  conflict  that 
which  was  far  dearer  to  him  than  his  own 
life.  I  cannot  say  that  he  sent  his  four  sons, 
because  they  all  went  at  once,  as  every  one  knew 
that  their  father's  sons  would  go.  Two  have 
been  badly  wounded;  one  was  killed.  He  met 
the  blow  with  the  most  splendid  and  unflinching 
courage." 


ROUSING  THE  NATION'S  SOUL         201 

Rev.  William  T.  Manning,  Rector  of  Trinity 
Church,  New  York,  speaking  under  the  auspices 
of  the  American  Defense  Society : 

"  The  name  of  Theodore  will  stand  forever  as- 
sociated with  the  entrance  of  America  into  the 
world  war. 

"  It  was  his  voice  far  more  than  any  other 
which  roused  the  soul  of  our  country  and 
brought  us  to  ourselves  before  it  was  too  late. 
It  was  his  fearless  witness  which  compelled  our 
people  to  see  the  truth  and  to  meet  their  re- 
sponsibility. 

"  In  the  day  when  America  stood  neutral  be- 
fore the  greatest  moral  crisis  in  history,  when  the 
pacifist  spirit  was  dominant,  when  the  soul  of  our 
nation  seemed  to  be  dulled  and  deadened,  when 
men  in  highest  place  were  saying  that  this  was 
Europe's  war,  that  its  issues  did  not  concern  us, 
that  the  war  spirit  among  us  was  being  fomented 
by  the  munition  makers,  Theodore  Roosevelt's 
voice  sounded  the  call  to  honor  and  to  duty. 
His  strong  championship  of  right  urged  us  to  the 
course  which,  after  two  and  a  half  years  of  hesi- 
tation, we  took  at  last. 

"  It  was  he  who  led  in  the  demand  that  there 
should  be  no  terms  with  Germany  but  uncondi- 
tional surrender. 

"  And  when  the  fighting  was  ended,  it  was  his 
voice  which  was  again  lifted  up  for  a  just  and 
righteous  settlement  and  against  a  soft  and  im- 
moral peace. 

"  No  one  of  open  mind  will  question  the  great 
part  played  by  Theodore  Roosevelt  in  the  world 
battle  for  righteousness  and  freedom.  His  un- 


202        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

matched  service  during  this  period  will  stand 
clear  in  the  pages  of  history. 

"  It  was  his  fervent  desire  to  have  part  in  the 
struggle  at  the  front.  This  opportunity  was  de- 
nied him,  but  he  gave  that  which  was  dearer  to 
him  than  his  own  life.  He  sent  four  sons  into 
the  fighting  line,  all  to  prove  themselves  worthy 
of  him  and  of  their  country  —  one  of  them  never 
to  return. 

"  His  unceasing  labors  during  the  war  and  the 
shock  of  his  son  Quentin's  death  no  doubt  hast- 
ened his  end.  His  loss  to  the  country  is  an 
irreparable  one." 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE    LAST    SCENES    OF    THE    GREAT    ADVENTURE 

No  man  ever  enjoyed  life  more  keenly  nor 
gave  more  to  it  and  got  more  from  it  than  Theo- 
dore Roosevelt.  Many  times  he  testified  to  his 
relish  of  the  strenuous  efforts  and  battles  in 
which  he  engaged.  He  wanted  to  live  because 
he  wanted  to  work,  but  he  always  faced  the  pos- 
sibilities of  death  with  a  fearless  heart  and  a 
cheerful  spirit.  His  narrow  escape  at  the  time 
of  a  trolley  crash  with  his  automobile  in 
1902,  when  one  of  his  companions  was  killed,  so 
unnerved  a  member  of  Congress  who  was  in  the 
party,  that  when  they  had  retired  from  the  crowd 
and  were  alone,  he  exclaimed,  fervently,  "  Thank 
God,  you  escaped ! "  The  President  replied 
simply,  "  I  thank  God  that  I  escaped  death.  I 


LAST  SCENES  203 

want  to  live  and  go  on  with  my  work,  but  I  do 
not  think  I  fear  death.  I  know  that  I  do  not 
fear  death  as  much  as  I  do  that  I  may  make  some 
mistake  affecting  the  welfare  of  this  country." 

In  comparison  with  the  utmost  service  to  his 
country,  dangers,  buffetings,  reproaches,  fighting, 
and  death  itself  were  as  nothing,  and  he  might 
have  said,  with  Paul,  "  None  of  these  things 
move  me,  neither  count  I  my  life  dear  unto  my- 
self, so  that  I  might  finish  my  course  with  joy." 
He  desired,  with  all  his  soul,  to  give  his  personal 
service  to  his  country  on  the  fighting  line  in 
France.  If  his  request  that  he  be  permitted  to 
raise  a  volunteer  division  had  been  granted,  he 
would  have  loyally  placed  himself  under  the  di- 
rection of  some  West  Point  superior,  and  played 
his  subordinate  part  faithfully  and  well.  In 
private  conversation  in  Brooklyn,  soon  after  this 
country  entered  the  war,  he  expressed  the  belief 
that  one  of  the  best  things  that  could  happen  to 
the  United  States,  in  stirring  the  war  spirit, 
would  be  to  have  "  an  ex-President  shot  at  the 
front,  in  France." 

"  This  was  not  said  merely  to  make  an  im- 
pression on  the  listener,"  says  the  Brooklyn 
Eagle  whose  editor  tells  the  incident,  "  or  to 
convey  the  idea  that  if  he  got  to  the  front  he  in- 
tended to  plunge  headlong  into  danger  to  court  a 
hero's  death.  He  was  eager  to  fight  for  his 
country,  and  he  was  ready  to  make  any  personal 
sacrifice,  no  matter  how  great,  if  it  should  stimu- 
late her  in  the  venture  upon  which  he  had  em- 
barked. He  would  have  given  himself,  as  he 
had  given  his  sons,  not  merely  yielding  to  the 


204        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

pressure  of  circumstances,  but  eagerly,  joyfully, 
because  he  believed  that  no  man,  physically  able, 
could  serve  his  ideals  so  well  behind  the  lines  as 
in  the  forefront  of  battle.  His  one  great  regret, 
as  he  himself  expressed  it,  was  that  he  had 
not  been  allowed  to  take  his  place  beside  his 
boys." 

His  life  was  not  laid  on  the  altar  of  service  in 
France;  but  he  spent  himself,  and  was  spent,  in 
unceasing  service  at  home  to  rouse  the  Nation  to 
the  fullest  recognition  of  its  high  duty,  and  the 
utmost  exertion  of  its  great  power  to  win  a  com- 
plete victory. 

His  last  book,  "The  Great  Adventure,"  was 
published  by  Scribners  in  November,  1918,  just 
as  the  victory  was  won.  His  "  Foreword  "  was 
signed  and  dated  November  6th,  five  days  before 
the  Armistice,  and  exactly  two  months  before 
his  own  final  promotion.  This  book  is  startlingly 
appropriate  as  his  last  published  volume.  The 
first  chapter,  "  The  Great  Adventure  "  reads  al- 
most like  a  conscious  farewell.  A  few  of  its 
sentences  are  quoted  as  a  fitting  epitaph  to  the 
noble-hearted  author  of  them: 

"  Only  those  are  fit  to  live  who  do  not  fear  to 
die ;  and  none  are  fit  to  die  who  have  shrunk  from 
the  joy  of  life  and  the  duty  of  life.  Both  life 
and  death  are  parts  of  the  same  Great  Adventure. 
Never  yet  was  worthy  adventure  worthily  car- 
ried through  by  the  man  who  put  his  personal 
safety  first.  Never  yet  was  a  country  worth  liv- 
ing in  unless  its  sons  and  daughters  were  of  that 
stern  stuff  which  bade  them  die  for  it  at  need; 
and  never  yet  was  a  country  worth  dying  for 


LAST  SCENES  205 

unless  its  sons  and  daughters  thought  of  life  not 
as  something  concerned  only  with  the  selfish 
evanescence  of  the  individual,  but  as  a  link  in  the 
great  chain  of  creation  and  causation,  so  that 
each  person  is  seen  in  his  true  relations  as  an 
essential  part  of  the  whole,  whose  life  must  be 
made  to  serve  the  larger  and  continuing  life  of 
the  whole. 

"  With  all  my  heart  I  believe  in  the  joy  of  liv- 
ing; but  those  who  achieve  it  do  not  seek  it  as 
an  end  in  itself,  but  as  a  seized  and  prized  inci- 
dent of  hard  work  well  done  and  danger  never 
wantonly  courted,  but  never  shirked  when  duty 
commands  that  they  be  faced. 

"  Woe  to  those  who  invite  a  sterile  death ;  a 
death  not  for  them  only,  but  for  the  race;  the 
death  which  is  insured  by  a  life  of  sterile  selfish- 
ness. 

"  But  honor,  highest  honor,  to  those  who  fear- 
lessly face  death  for  a  good  cause ;  no  life  is  so 
honorable  or  so  fruitful  as  such  a  death.  Unless 
men  are  willing  to  fight  and  die  for  great  ideals, 
including  love  of  country,  ideals  will  vanish,  and 
the  world  will  become  one  huge  sty  of  material- 
ism. And  unless  the  women  of  ideals  bring 
forth  the  men  who  are  ready  thus  to  live  and  die, 
the  world  of  the  future  will  be  filled  by  the  spawn 
of  the  unfit. 

"  In  America  to-day  all  our  people  are  sum- 
moned to  service  and  sacrifice.  Pride  is  the  por- 
tion only  of  those  who  know  bitter  sorrow  or 
the  foreboding  of  bitter  sorrow.  But  all  of  us 
•who  give  service,  and  stand  ready  for  sacrifice, 
are  the  torch  bearers.  We  run  with  the  torches 


206        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

until  we  fall,  content  if  we  can  then  pass  them 
to  the  hands  of  other  runners." 

For  even  so  vigorous  a  constitution  as  the  one 
Theodore  Roosevelt  -had  built  up  by  persistent 
training  and  care  since  boyhood,  the  terrible  ex- 
periences in  the  Brazilian  jungles  were  too  severe 
a  strain.  At  fifty-five  he  had  not  the  same  re- 
serve vitality  and  power  of  resistance  to  fever 
and  blood  poisoning  as  he  had  had  in  earlier 
journeys  into  the  wilderness.  After  his  return 
he  never  fully  regained  his  health,  although  he 
fought  constantly  against  encroachments  of  the 
old  jungle  disease,  and  persisted  valiantly  in  his 
public  work  and  his  writing.  Much  of  his  time 
was  interrupted  by  periods  of  illness  and  special 
treatments  at  Roosevelt  Hospital.  The  public 
never  knew  until  the  struggle  was  over  how  seri- 
ous some  of  these  attacks  of  illness  were.  The 
New  York  Tribune  chronicler  told  the  following 
story  of  those  eventful  days,  revealing  many 
startling  details  which  had  been  carefully  kept 
from  the  newspapers  until  then : 

Quentin's  death  was  much  more  of  a  blow 
to  him  than  most  of  even  his  intimate  friends 
realized,  though  it  could  not  be  said  that  he 
had  ever  thought  all  of  his  sons  would  return 
to  him. 

"  I  pray  God,"  he  once  said  to  the  writer, 
"  that  He  will,  in  his  mercy,  send  them  back  to  me 
safe  and  sound,  but  in  my  heart  I  know  it  is  al- 
most too  much  for  me  to  hope  for.  I  know  what 
modern  war  is,  and  I  know  my  boys.  I  know 
they  will  do  their  part.  That  means  danger. 


LAST  SCENES  207 

"  It  is  not  a  pleasant  thought  for  a  father  who 
knows  what  modern  war  is,  and  the  fearful 
things  a  high  explosive  shell  will  do,  to  think 
of  his  boys  being  exposed  to  them,  to  think  per- 
haps that  at  the  moment  they  may  be  lying  muti- 
lated in  No  Man's  Land. 

"  No,  it  is  not  pleasant,  and  yet  there  are  curs 
[this  was  at  the  time  a  Southwestern  editor  had 
asserted  the  Roosevelt  boys,  through  influence, 
had  secured  safe  berths]  who  dare  say  that  my 
boys,  every  one  of  them  in  combat  corps,  had 
shirked  their  duty  with  the  aid  of  my  supposed 
influence !  " 

Again,  as  he  was  recovering  from  the  very 
serious  illness  of  early  last  winter  in  Roosevelt 
Hospital,  a  caller,  congratulating  him  on  his  re- 
covery, said  his  friends  had  been  worried. 

"  Well,"  said  he,  "  I  was  not  worried  about  my- 
self. I  was  not  thinking  of  myself.  I  was 
thinking  of  my  four  boys.  I  tell  you  I  am  al- 
mighty proud  of  my  boys,  and,"  after  a  momen- 
tary pause,  "  just  as  proud  of  my  two  fine  girls." 

This  illness,  which  developed  in  February,  was, 
in  the  opinion  of  medical  friends,  the  beginning 
of  the  end  with  Colonel  Roosevelt.  It  began 
with  a  rectal  abscess,  which  was  first  operated 
upon  without  an  anesthetic  at  Sagamore  Hill. 
It  left  a  painful  wound,  in  spite  of  which  the 
Colonel  insisted  on  motoring  forty  miles  into 
town  to  his  office,  then  in  the  quarters  of  The 
Metropolitan  Magazine.  There  he  met  several 
friends  and  later  went  to  the  Harvard  Club, 
where  he  had  several  engagements.  He  kept 
these,  though  trouble  with  the  wound  caused  him 


2o8        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

to  leave  for  the  Hotel  Langdon,  where  he  had 
arranged  to  see  his  then  attending  physician, 
Doctor  Martin,  before  returning  to  the  club  for  a 
dinner  of  the  Vigilantes. 

This  dinner  was  to  be  in  the  nature  of  a  fare- 
well to  Major  John  Purroy  Mitchel,  who  was  to 
leave  in  a  few  days  for  a  California  flying-field, 
and  to  discuss  ways  and  means  of  combating 
German  propaganda.  After  it,  Colonel  Roose- 
velt was  to  spend  the  night  at  the  Langdon  and 
leave  early  the  next  day  for  Boston  to  speak  for 
the  Red  Cross.  He  had  been  urged  to  cancel  this 
latter  engagement,  but  refused  on  the  ground 
that  he  could  fill  it,  that  it  was  war-work,  and 
that  it  must  be  done. 

While  waiting  at  the  Langdon  for  Doctor 
Martin,  the  Colonel  began  dictating  to  his  Secre- 
tary, but  suddenly  started  to  collapse.  He 
pulled  himself  together  and  staggered  to  a  bed- 
room, where  he  lay  down.  -  In  a  few  minutes, 
Doctor  Martin  arrived,  found  a  high  fever,  and 
after  installing  nurses,  induced  the  Colonel  to 
cancel  the  engagements  he  had  insisted  on  filling. 

He  had  rather  a  restless  night,  and  the  next 
day  there  was  a  consultation  of  physicians.  At 
this  the  Colonel  was  advised  to  go  to  Roosevelt 
Hospital,  where  under  complete  anesthesia,  it 
would  be  possible  to  examine  the  deep-seated  ab- 
scess that  had  been  lanced  two  days  before. 
This,  they  said,  would  enable  them  to  find  out 
exactly  what  was  wrong,  and  they  could  at  the 
same  time  clean  up  a  large  abscess  which  had  de- 
veloped in  his  left  ear  and  a  smaller  or  embryo 
abscess  in  the  right  ear. 


LAST  SCENES  209 

"Is  there  anything  that  can  be  done?"  the 
Colonel  is  quoted  as  asking,  "  that  will  clear  up 
this  entire  matter  of  Brazilian  fever?  Since  I 
came  back  I  have  had  it  recur  in  one  way  or  an- 
other. If  it  is  possible  to  clear  it  up  for  all  time, 
I  wish  it  done." 

The  physicians  assured  him  that  this  was  what 
they  had  in  mind,  and  he  agreed  to  their  plan, 
stipulating,  however,  that  he  should  go  to  Roose- 
velt Hospital  in  his  own  motor  and  not  in  any 
ambulance.  This  was  agreed  to,  and  that  after- 
noon at  four  o'clock  he  went  on  the  operating- 
table. 

He  was  there  two  hours,  the  doctors'  bulletin 
announcing  that  they  had  found  the  large  ab- 
scess was  draining  into  a  large  fistula.  Unat- 
tended to,  they  said,  this  might  have  had  the  re- 
sult of  poisoning  the  entire  system.  The  opera- 
tion, they  declared,  had  been  a  success.  The 
work  on  the  ears  was  thought  so  unimportant  it 
was  not  mentioned. 

Next  day,  however,  mastoiditis  had  developed 
in  the  left  ear,  and  experts  were  hurriedly  called 
into  consultation.  A  condition  that  made  them 
fear  to  operate  or  not  to  operate  was  found, 
but  it  was  finally  decided  to  stake  all  on  wait- 
ing a  while  before  operating.  The  account  pro- 
ceeds : 

That  night  the  bulletin  frankly  said  the  Col- 
onel's condition  was  critical.  Only  the  family 
and  a  very  few  intimates  knew  that  it  was  dan- 
gerous. 

All  that  night  a  specialist  on  the  ear  slept  in 
the  hospital  and  others  were  awaiting  call,  while 


210        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

the  operating-room  and  a  staff  of  nurses  were 
ready  for  any  emergency. 

By  noon  the  next  day,  however,  the  danger  had 
passed.  As  one  of  the  physicians  expressed  it : 
"  This  is  one  of  those  cases  where  nature,  left 
to  herself,  makes  a  successful  stand  at  the  very 
last  ditch.  An  almost  infinitesimal  amount  of 
progress  and  the  inflammation  would  have  com- 
pelled us  to  operate  whether  we  wanted  to  or 
not." 

From  this  sickness  Colonel  Roosevelt  made  a 
good  recovery,  though  he  was  in  the  hospital  a 
little  more  than  a  month.  When  he  left  the 
only  noticeable  effect  was  that  the  destruction  of 
a  canal  in  the  left  ear,  which  serves  as  a  physical 
balance,  had  made  his  gait  unsteady  and,  as  he 
put  it,  compelled  him  to  learn  to  walk  again. 

At  this  time  the  doctors  advised  that  he  take  a 
long  rest  at  his  Oyster  Bay  home  and  refrain 
from  any  traveling  or  other  hard  work.  The 
Colonel  tried  to  follow  this,  but  he  felt  that  he 
should  go  to  Maine  to  deliver  the  chief  address  at 
the  Republican  State  Convention.  To  this  the 
doctors  agreed,  with  the  proviso  that  he  be  very 
careful  until  then,  and  then  not  overdo.  So,  in 
the  closing  week  of  March  he  went  to  Portland 
and  there  delivered  what  he  held  was  one  of  the 
most  important  speeches  of  his  career. 

It  was  what  politicians  call  a  "  keynote " 
speech,  and  in  it  he  offered  a  program  on  which 
all  factions  of  the  party  might  get  together. 
The  response  of  the  country  to  it  was  good,  and, 
in  the  Colonel's  opinion,  amply  repaid  the  effort. 
To  his  way  of  thinking,  it  was  of  paramount  na- 


LAST  SCENES  211 

tional  importance  that  the  party  heal  its  schisms 
and  get  together  for  the  common  good. 

The  Colonel  did  very  little  after  that  in  the 
way  of  public  speaking  until  late  in  May,  when, 
at  the  request  of  the  National  Security  League, 
he  made  a  tour  through  the  Middle  West. 
Those  sections  were  selected  where  pro-Ger- 
manism and  pacifism  had  been  strong.  It  was, 
in  a  word,  an  invasion  of  what  was  considered 
the  enemy's  country,  though  the  Colonel  had 
maintained  that  the  trouble  was  bad  leadership 
and  that  the  issues  had  not  been  presented 
squarely  to  the  people,  who,  he  was  positive,  at 
heart  were  all  right. 

The  first  of  these  trips,  made  in  May,  which 
included  such  places  as  Milwaukee,  where  there 
is  a  large  German  population,  was  without  espe- 
cial incident.  In  each,  especially  Milwaukee,  the 
Colonel  gave  the  crowds  "  the  best  that  is  in  me," 
and  in  each  the  response  seemed  to  justify  his 
faith. 

The  second  of  these  trips,  in  June,  was  marred 
by  an  attack  of  erysipelas,  which  developed  in 
Chicago  twenty-four  hours  after  he  left  New 
York.  Against  the  advice  of  eminent  Chicago 
physicians,  he  insisted  on  keeping  his  appoint- 
ments; and,  traveling  with  Dr.  George  H.  Cole- 
man,  of  Chicago,  in  attendance,  he  spoke  in 
Omaha,  St.  Louis,  Indianapolis,  and  Blooming- 
ton,  Indiana,  returning  to  New  York  apparently 
little  the  worse  for  the  attack.  Within  a  week 
he  was  reported  free  of  the  disease. 

The  Colonel  then  agreed  to  take  things  easier 
during  the  height  of  summer,  but  he  made  an 


212        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

exception  to  his  rule  of  no  speeches  for  a  while 
in  order  to  speak  to  Passaic's  large  foreign-born 
population  on  July  4.  Again  on  Labor  Day  he 
spoke  at  Newburg,  N.  Y.,  at  the  launching  of  a 
vessel  in  the  shipyard  of  which  his  young  friend 
Thomas  C.  Desmond  was  the  directing  genius. 
By  this  time  he  was  apparently  fully  recovered. 

Within  the  month  the  Colonel  received  the 
bitterest  blow  of  his  life  —  the  death  of  his  son, 
Quentin.  The  first  hint  of  this  affliction  came  in 
a  censored  dispatch  telling  a  New  York  news- 
paper to  watch  Oyster  Bay  "  for  news  of ." 

This  was  submitted  to  Colonel  Roosevelt,  who 
decided  by  the  following  process  of  elimination 
that  Quentin  had  at  least  been  injured. 

"  It  can  not  be  Ted  and  it  can  not  be  Archie," 
said  he,  "  for  both  are  recovering  from  wounds. 
It  is  not  Kermit,  for  he  is  not  in  the  danger  zone 
at  just  this  moment.  So  it  must  be  Quentin. 
However,  we  must  say  nothing  of  this  to  his 
mother  to-night." 

The  next  day  the  censor  released  the  news  that 
Quentin  was  dead.  The  Colonel,  hard  hit,  in  a 
public  statement  expressed  the  pleasure  of  Mrs. 
Roosevelt  and  himself  that  the  boy  had  had  his 
chance  to  do  his  bit.  On  the  following  day, 
with  the  characteristic  Roosevelt  explanation 
that  it  was  a  matter  of  duty,  he  went  to  the  Re- 
publican State  Convention  in  Saratoga  to  try 
and  heal  party  differences. 

If,  however,  the  Colonel  did  not  show  his  grief, 
it  was  not  because  he  did  not  feel  grief. 
His  closest  intimates  said  he  grieved  in  solitude 
while  maintaining  a  smiling  face  in  public. 


LAST  SCENES  213 

When  he  spoke  of  the  boys,  more  especially  to 
the  soldiers  who  visited  him  from  a  nearby  camp 
on  Saturday,  it  never  was  with  regret  for  Quen- 
tin,  only  pleasure  that  his  boys  had  done  well. 
His  grief  was  sacred  to  himself. 

The  Colonel's  last  public  appearance  of  impor- 
tance was  in  the  closing  days  of  the  State  cam- 
paign, when,  at  a  meeting  in  Carnegie  Hall,  in 
the  interest  of  Governor  Whitman,  he  made  an- 
swer to  President  Wilson's  appeal  for  a  Demo- 
cratic Congress.  He  seldom  was  in  better  voice, 
and  those  who  heard  him  that  night  said  it  was 
"  the  same  old  Roosevelt." 

A  few  days  later  he  made  his  last  public  ap- 
pearance at  a  meeting  in  honor  of  a  negro  hospi- 
tal unit.  After  this  he  developed  symptoms  of 
rheumatism,  and  on  November  n,  the  day  the 
armistice  was  signed,  sciatica  having  developed, 
he  went  to  Roosevelt  Hospital,  in  New  York  City, 
partly  for  treatment,  but  most  of  all  to  be  near 
his  physician,  Doctor  Richard. 

There  the  diagnosis  that  a  defective  tooth  was 
responsible  for  the  trouble  was  substantiated, 
and,  after  it  had  been  extracted,  the  sciatica 
cleared  up.  Then  came  inflammatory  rheuma- 
tism, which,  however,  so  yielded  to  treatment 
that  he  was  fit  to  return  home  on  Christmas  day 
to  play  Santa  Claus  for  little  Richard  Derby  and 
the  children  of  Theodore,  Jr. 

All  of  the  Roosevelt  children  in  this  country 
were  at  home  that  day.  For  the  event  Mrs. 
Longworth  came  from  Washington,  Mrs.  Derby 
was  on  hand  with  her  babies,  and  Captain  Archie, 
home  disabled,  with  the  Colonel  and  Mrs.  Roose- 


214        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

velt  and  Mrs.  Archie,  made  up  the  family  party. 

It  was  the  first  Christmas  in  years  when  a 
young  roast  pig  raised  on  the  place  had  not  been 
the  piece  de  resistance. 

Because  of  doubt  as  to  when  the  Colonel 
would  come  home  the  slaying  of  the  porker  had 
been  delayed  too  late,  and  a  turkey  was  roasted 
instead.  It  also  was  the  first  Christmas  in  many 
years  that  the  Colonel  had  not  played  Santa  to 
the  children  of  the  Cove  school,  where  his  own 
children  received  their  primary  education. 

After  the  holiday  the  children  scattered,  Mrs. 
Derby,  who  left  home  for  the  South  on  January 
3,  being  the  first  to  go  away.  This  left  Mrs. 
Roosevelt  and  the  Colonel  alone  in  the  big  house, 
there  being  no  apparent  reason  why  the  children 
should  longer  remain. 

Mr.  Roosevelt  was  active  to  his  last  waking 
moment,  with  work  for  his  beloved  country. 
On  Saturday  he  dictated  the  message  which  was 
read  at  a  meeting  of  the  American  Defense  So- 
ciety at  the  Hippodrome  on  Sunday  night.  In' 
this  message  he  phrased  afresh  the  thoughts  that 
had  been  burning  in  his  mind  of  late. 

"  There  can  be  no  divided  allegiance  here. 
Any  man  who  says  he  is  an  American,  but  some- 
thing else  also,  isn't  an  American  at  all.  We 
have  room  but  for  one  flag,  the  American  flag, 
and  this  excludes  the  red  flag,  which  symbolizes 
all  wars  against  liberty  and  civilization,  just  as 
much  as  it  excludes  any  foreign  flag  of  a  nation 
to  which  we  are  hostile. 

"  We  have  room  for  but  one  language  here, 
and  that  is  the  American  language,  for  we  in- 


HIS    LAST    MESSAGE 

"  IV e  hare  toom  for  but  one  flag,  the  American  flag — av  hare  root 
for  but  one  loyally,  and  that  is  lovaltv  to  the  American  people." — Fron 
a  statement  by"  Theodore  Roosevelt  read  the  night  before  his  death  at  i 
meeting  of  the  American  Defense  Society. 

—  Pancoast  in   Philadelphia  Nortli     ' 


LOVER  OF  HOME  AND  CHILDREN        215 

tend  to  see  that  the  crucible  turns  our  people 
out  as  Americans,  of  American  nationality,  and 
not  as  dwellers  in  a  polyglot  boarding  house,  and 
we  have  room  but  for  one  soul  loyalty,  and  that 
is  loyalty  to  the  American  people." 

Sunday  night  he  had  been  reading  and  writ- 
ing until  about  twelve  o'clock  when  he  retired 
and  fell  asleep.  He  did  not  wake  again,  but  at 
about  4:15  o'clock  he  ceased  breathing  and 
passed  into  the  larger  life  which  he  had  so  richly 
earned. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

A   LOVER   OF    HOME   AND   CHILDREN 

BETWEEN  the  real  Roosevelt  and  the  one 
whom  the  man  in  the  street  thought  he  knew 
so  well,  there  was,  in  many  respects,  a  wide  dif- 
ference. 

The  popular  idea  of  him,  writes  John  J. 
Leary,  Jr.,  in  the  New  York  Tribune,  was  largely 
that  of  the  reckless  Rough  Rider,  hot-headed 
and  impetuous  and  quick  on  the  trigger.  But 
"  the  real  Roosevelt,  the  Roosevelt,  his  intimates 
and  those  not  quite  in  the  inner  circles  of  his 
friendship  knew,  was  a  cautious,  clear-headed, 
far-sighted  thinker,  slow  on  the  trigger,  consid- 
erate of  the  rights  and  feelings  of  others, 
intensely  loyal  to  his  ideals  and  hrs  friends,  and 
the  ideal  family  man  who,  in  later  years,  at 
least,  would  have  preferred  the  quiet  of  his 
Oyster  Bay  home  and  the  comfortable  ways  of 


216        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

'  a  grandfather  with  literary  tastes '  to  the  tur- 
moil of  public  life  and  all  that  public  life  in- 
volved." He  made  this  very  plain  one  day  in 
conversation  with  Henry  L.  Stodclard,  editor  of 
the  Evening  Mail,  who  thus  tells  of  the  incident : 

"  Once  we  talked  about  the  White  House.  It 
was  during  the  1912  campaign.  We  were  sit- 
ting on  the  porch  at  Sagamore  Hill.  '  This  is 
the  only  spot  on  earth  for  me,'  he  said.  '  I  am 
never  satisfied  away  from  here.'  I  spoke  about 
the  WThite  House. 

"  '  Oh,'  he  said,  *  you  don't  live  there.  You 
are  merely  Exhibit  A  to  the  country.  I've  had 
seven  years  of  it  and  I  know.  I  admit  that  once 
I  felt  differently.  When  I  was  Civil  Service 
Commissioner  down  in  Washington,  I  used  to 
walk  by  the  White  House,  and  my  heart  would 
beat  a  little  faster  as  the  thought  came  to  me 
that  possibly — (he  emphasized  'possibly'  with 
the  strident  note  so  familiar  to  those  who  ever 
heard  him  speak)  — '  possibly,'  he  repeated,  '  I 
would  some  day  occupy  it  as  President. 

" '  Well,  I  did  occupy  it  as  President,  and 
now  I  can  pass  by  without  a  thrill.  It  has  no 
lure  for  me.  I  am  in  this  fight  not  because  I 
want  to  be  in  the  White  House,  but,  as  you  well 
know,  because  no  one  else  would  undertake  it. 
Going  back  to  the  White  House  has  nothing  but 
peril  to  my  place  in  history.  I  made  that  place 
during  the  seven  years  I  was  there,  and  I  may 
unmake  it  by  going  back.  I  certainly  do  not 
expect  to  be  able  to  improve  it.  No,  I  do  not 
want  the  title  of  President  again.  In  fact,  I 
have  never  had  much  respect  for  titles.  I  don't 


LOVER  OF  HOME  AND  CHILDREN        217 

believe  in  them.  I  want  to  know  a  man's  deeds, 
not  his  title.' " 

Writing  of  Mr.  Roosevelt's  life  on  Sagamore 
Hill,  Dr.  Leary  continues  in  the  Tribune: 

The  absence  of  style  — "  dog,"  the  Colonel's 
western  friends  call  it  —  was  the  key-note  of 
life  on  Sagamore  Hill.  Everything  there  was 
plain,  but  substantial,  and  fare  ample  and  tasty, 
but  plainly  and  severely  American.  No  French 
chef  ever  spoiled  the  corn  bread  or  the  country 
sausage  that  might  be  served  at  breakfast  or 
the  roast  that  graced  the  heavier  meal  of  the 
day. 

This  meal,  dinner,  was  always  an  event  in 
the  Roosevelt  home.  Whether  there  was  one 
guest  or  a  dozen,  and  all  the  children  and  their 
playmates,  or  whether,  as  was  very  often  the 
case  in  late  years,  there  were  only  the  Colonel 
and  Mrs.  Roosevelt,  a  ringing  of  the  gong  at 
six  o'clock  or  thereabouts  was  the  signal  for 
the  Colonel  to  retire  to  bathe  and  shave  and 
don  his  evening  clothes.  This  habit  of  always 
dressing  for  dinner  when  at  home  (and  abroad 
when  that  was  possible)  and  of  appearing  on 
Sundays  in  immaculate  morning  clothes  was 
his  only  concession  to  dress.  On  other  days 
and  at  other  hours,  a  rough  tweed  suit,  knicker- 
bockers, heavy  woolen  stockings,  and  hobnailed 
boots  or  riding  clothes  of  khaki  and  an  old  Stet- 
son hat,  at  Sagamore  Hill,  made  up  his  costume. 

At  Sagamore  Hill  it  was  the  Colonel's  habit 
to  arise  early  and,  after  a  light  breakfast  and 
a  glance  at  the  morning  paper  and  at  the  mail 
Charley  Lee  might  have  brought  from  the  vil- 


2i8        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

lage  post-office,  he  would  go  for  a  walk  about 
the  estate,  a  hard  canter  over  the  splendid  roads 
of  the  vicinity,  or  spend  perhaps  an  hour  in  a 
rowboat  or  at  chopping  wood.  Then  he  would 
settle  down  to  a  session  devoted  to  the  affairs 
of  the  estate  —  the  Colonel  had  a  considerable 
farm  at  Sagamore  Hill  —  or  to  his  literary  work. 
This  would  keep  him  busy  until  lunch,  a  simple 
affair,  and  then,  like  as  not,  the  reception  of  visi- 
tors from  here,  there,  everywhere. 

The  visitor  might  be  a  prelate  of  the  Roman 
Church  —  the  late  Archbishop  John  Ireland,  of 
St.  Paul,  was  always  welcome  at  Oyster  Bay  — 
a  diplomat,  or  a  noble  of  high  rank  from  abroad, 
a  prize-fighter  —  John  L.  Sullivan  was  proud  of 
the  Roosevelt  friendship,  and  the  Colonel  was 
fond  of  the  big  gladiator  — "  Big  Tim  "  Sulli- 
van from  the  Bowery,  or  some  scion  of  an  old 
Knickerbocker  family  in  for  a  purely  social 
chat. 

These,  as  a  rule,  the  Colonel  received  in  what 
he  called  the  North  Room,  a  big  wing  he  had 
added  to  the  rambling  structure  which  crowns 
Sagamore  Hill,  but  which  the  newspaper  men 
who  knew  it  called  the  trophy  room  from  the 
fact  that  it  was  stored  with  trophies  of  the  chase 
and  the  Colonel's  travels  about  the  world. 
Sometimes  the  Colonel  would  tell  the  history  of 
this  bronze  or  that  picture,  or  explain  to  the 
small  boy  of  the  party  where  the  animal  whose 
skin  he  might  be  standing  upon  was  killed.  In 
his  room  there  were  many  objects  of  priceless 
value,  but  the  one  thing  dearest  to  the  Roose- 
velt heart  was  a  massive  piece  of  silver,  the  gift 


LOVER  OF  HOME  AND  CHILDREN        219 

to  Mrs.  Roosevelt  by  the  men  of  the  battleship 
Louisiana.  Next  to  the  Remington  bronze  of 
the  Bronco  Buster,  the  present  to  the  Colonel 
from  his  regiment,  which  sat  in  the  library,  he 
valued  this  piece  of  silver  bronze  above  all  his 
other  possessions. 

It  was  in  this  North  Room  that  Colonel  Roose- 
velt held  most  of  the  conferences  with  visitors 
who  came  to  discuss  politics,  or  other  matters  of 
public  importance,  and  where,  after  dinner,  visi- 
tors from  this  or  other  lands  would  most  often 
be  entertained,  for  it  was  a  comfortable  room 
and  it  was  not  the  Colonel's  habit  to  "  make 
company"  of  anybody. 

In  these  conferences  or  after-dinner  discus- 
sions Colonel  Roosevelt  was  ever  the  very  frank, 
outspoken  citizen,  or,  if  the  other  man  or  men 
in  the  conference  had  anything  to  tell,  a  very 
good  listener.  Listening  well  was  not  the  least 
of  his  accomplishments,  and,  contrary  to  the 
belief  of  many,  he  welcomed  difference  of 
opinion.  The  man  who  could  and  would  point 
out  weaknesses  or  supposed  weaknesses  in  any 
position  the  Colonel  had  or  was  about  to  take 
was  the  most  valued,  and  if  the  spacious  old 
fireplace  could  talk  it  would  tell  of  many  a 
Roosevelt  speech  or  letter  modified  or  torn  up, 
because  one  of  these  candid  friends  had  shown 
a  better  way  or  a  clearer  term  of  expression. 

Many  of  the  documents  here  discussed  never 
saw  the  light  of  day.  Others  did  not  become 
public  until  weeks  or  months  afterward,  and 
when  the  time  seemed  opportune  or  demanded 
some  statement. 


220         ROOSEVELT'S  LITE  AND  MEANING 

This  habit  of  preparation  of  things  long  in 
advance,  plus  the  almost  uncanny  ability  before 
mentioned  to  see  ahead,  was  largely  responsi- 
ble for  much  of  the  Colonel's  reputation  for 
being  "  quick  on  the  trigger." 

Always  a  man  of  contrasts,  a  dashing  fighter, 
a  lover  of  the  strenuous  life,  Mr.  Roosevelt 
had  withal  the  gift  of  gentleness  which  goes 
with  a  sympathetic  understanding  of  the  heart 
of  a  little  child.  He  was  a  companion  and  an 
intimate  in  all  the  experiences  of  his  own  chil- 
dren. As  soon  as  his  children  became  old 
enough  to  read  and  understand  writing  the 
Colonel  formed  the  plan  of  writing  them  letters 
on  all  manner  of  subjects  such  as  might  appeal 
to  them  and  instruct  them.  The  letters  are  full 
of  good  advice  and  rugged  Americanism,  and  a 
volume  of  them  is  about  to  be  published.  They 
are  such  as  will  unquestionably  prove  to  the  lik- 
ing of  American  children  everywhere.  They 
are  filled  with  expressions  of  affection,  of  in- 
structive expositions  of  many  subjects,  includ- 
ing many  things  about  birds  and  animals  and 
even  of  drawings  which  Colonel  Roosevelt  him- 
self made.  He  accompanied  his  letters  often 
with  quaint  drawings  and  sketches  made  by  him- 
self in  order  to  illustrate  that  which  he  was  try- 
ing to  teach  the  children. 

Mr.  Roosevelt's  glorification  of  fatherhood 
and  motherhood  was  one  of  many  instances  of 
his  grasp  of  the  elemental  virtues  and  of  his 
courage  in  urging  the  importance  of  what  men 
sometimes  overlook  because  it  is  so  common. 
He  was  never  ashamed  to  show  his  fondness 


LOVER  OF  HOME  AND  CHILDREN        221 

for  children,  and  was  always  touched  when  they 
responded.  Mr.  Eggleston,  whose  description 
of  the  President's  meeting  with  visitors  at  the 
White  House  has  already  been  quoted,  tells  also 
of  his  treatment  of  children: 

"  There  was  a  glisten  as  of  tears  in  his  eyes 
when  I  told  him  the  other  evening  that  a  stal- 
wart boy  had  recently  said  to  me: 

"  '  Anyhow,  Mr.  Roosevelt  always  stands  for 
us  boys  when  we  want  to  do  things.' 

"  I  had  seen  him  receive  a  boy  a  few  days  be- 
fore," Mr.  Eggleston  continues.  "The  boy,  a 
fine  lad  with  a  head  that  meant  something,  had 
come  with  his  father  to  be  '  presented.'  The 
father  was  received  cordially.  The  boy  was  al- 
most embraced.  The  President  took  him  by  the 
shoulders  in  caressing  fashion  and  talked  with 
him  as  any  good-natured  senior  in  a  school 
might  do  with  a  new  scholar  who  pleased  his 
fancy.  The  boy  had  looked  abashed  and  terri- 
fied before  his  presentation.  When  it  was  over 
he  seemed  to  me  to  be  the  happiest  boy  in  the 
world  —  with  the  exception,  perhaps,  of  Mr. 
Roosevelt." 

Two  little  girls  were  going  to  Oyster  Bay  to 
visit  their  grandmother  for  a  second  time  while 
Mr.  Roosevelt  was  at  his  home  there  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1903.  When  asked  if  they  had  seen  the 
President,  one  of  them  responded: 

"  Of  course  I  have.  He  goes  by  our  house 
almost  every  day.  He  always  waves  his  hand 
and  takes  off  his  hat  to  me." 

"  To  you  !  "  exclaimed  the  other  child.  "  He 
takes  off  his  hat  to  all  of  us." 


222        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

"  Well,  he  may  do  that,  but  he  smiles  at  me. 
I  know  he  does,  because  we  are  acquainted.  I 
was  on  the  fence  one  day,  alone,  and  he  went 
by  on  horseback.  He  leaned  over  and  said, 
'  How  do  you  do,  little  girl  ?  What  is  your 
name  ?  '  '  Ethel,  sir,'  I  said.  And  after  that  he 
always  smiles  at  me,  because  he  knows  me." 

One  day  he  was  sitting  in  his  library  at  home, 
talking  over  public  affairs  with  a  friend,  when 
a  lot  of  boys  entered  the  room. 

"  Uncle  Teddy,"  said  one,  respectfully,  "  it's 
after  four." 

"  So  it  is,"  responded  Mr.  Roosevelt,  looking 
at  the  clock.  "  Why  didn't  you  call  me  sooner  ? 
One  of  you  boys  get  my  rifle." 

Then  he  turned  to  his  guest  and  added,  "  I 
must  ask  you  to  excuse  me.  We'll  talk  this  out 
some  other  time.  I  promised  the  boys  I'd  go 
shooting  with  them  after  four  o'clock,  and  I 
never  keep  boys  waiting.  It's  a  hard  trial  for  a 
boy  to  wait." 

Then  he  walked  off  down  the  lawn  with  a 
crowd  of  boys  surrounding  him,  all  talking  at 
the  same  time  and  appealing  constantly  to 
"  Uncle  Teddy." 

A  wholesome  woman  who  had  called  to  see 
him  in  Washington  in  connection  with  public 
business,  said,  as  she  was  leaving,  that  his  con- 
ception of  family  life  was  beautiful,  and  added 
that  she  thought  his  children  must  be  a  great 
pleasure  to  him. 

"  Pleasure ! "  he  said  with  a  smile ;  "  you 
would  be  surprised  and  perhaps  shocked  if  you 
could  see  the  President  of  the  United  States 


LOVER  OF  HOME  AND  CHILDREN        223 

engaged  in  a  pillow  fight  with  his  children.  But 
those  fights  are  the  joy  of  my  life." 

During  the  special  session  of  Congress  in  No- 
vember, 1903,  it  became  necessary  to  appoint  a 
Federal  Judge  in  one  of  the  Western  States. 
The  President  believes  that  it  is  right  to  con- 
sult the  Congressmen  from  the  State  in  which 
an  appointment  is  to  be  made.  The  Congress- 
men from  this  State  had  not  been  able  to  agree 
on  a  man  for  the  vacancy.  The  supporters  of 
one  candidate  had  charged  thzit  the  candidate  of 
another  group  was  guilty,  among  other  things,  of 
playing  poker  with  many  lawyers  and  winning 
their  money.  It  was  said  that  such  a  man  could 
not  be  trusted  to  make  an  impartial  judge  when 
these  lawyers  were  practicing  before  him.  The 
President,  however,  would  not  rule  this  man 
from  consideration  just  then,  and  insisted  that 
the  Congressmen  should  agree  among  them- 
selves. 

One  afternoon,  while  they  were  in  caucus  to- 
gether, one  of  the  Republican  leaders  of  the 
State  went  to  the  White  House  and  talked  to 
the  President  about  the  case.  In  the  course  of 
the  interview  he  told  Mr.  Roosevelt  how  dis- 
tressed the  candidate's  family  was  over  the 
charges  against  him,  and  exhibited  a  letter  which 
the  man,  who  was  in  Washington  looking  after 
his  own  interests,  had  received  from  his  young 
daughter  at  home.  The  letter  read: 

DEAR  PAPA:  Why  don't  you  go  to  the  Presi- 
dent and  tell  him  about  it?  If  he  sees  your  face 
he  will  never  believe  those  nasty  charges. 


224        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

Mr.  Roosevelt  took  a  rose  from  among 
the  flowers  on  his  table  and  handed  it  to  his 
caller. 

"  I  wish,"  said  he,  "  that  you  would  send  that 
flower  to  that  daughter  and  tell  her  I  like  a 
young  girl  who  has  that  kind  of  faith  in  her 
father." 

At  this  moment  a  messenger  from  the  Depart- 
ment of  Justice  came  in  and  presented  a  paper 
to  the  President.  It  was  a  note  from  Attorney- 
General  Knox,  stating  that  at  the  President's 
command  he  had  investigated  the  charges  against 
the  man  and  found  them  untrue.  The  Presi- 
dent showed  the  note  to  the  State  leader  and 
then,  sitting  down,  wrote  out  the  candidate's 
nomination  and  sent  it  at  once  to  the  Senate. 

The  combination  of  a  loyal  daughter  defend- 
ing her  father  against  unjust  charges  made  an 
appeal  not  to  be  resisted.  On  another  occasion 
executive  action  was  prompted  by  an  appeal  to 
prevent  the  separation  of  the  members  of  an 
immigrant  family.  This  was  in  the  case  of  two 
Syrian  children  whose  father  came  to  this  coun- 
try in  1902.  He  left  his  wife  and  family  be- 
hind, planning  to  send  for  them  later.  He  set- 
tled in  Worcester,  Massachusetts,  and  declared 
his  intension  of  becoming  a  citizen.  Within  a 
year  he  had  saved  enough  money  to  bring  his 
family  to  the  United  States.  They  sold  their 
small  belongings  in  Turkey  and  started  for 
America.  When  they  arrived  in  New  York  they 
were  met  by  the  husband  and  father,  and  the 
family  reunion  was  joyous.  They  were  all  to 
live  together  in  the  land  of  freedom  and  could 


LOVER  OF  HOME  AND  CHILDREN        225 

hardly  wait  till  the  inspection  officers  had  ad- 
mitted them. 

Then  came  the  tragedy.  The  children  could 
not  pass  the  medical  examination.  While  on 
board  they  had  contracted  some  disease  of  the 
eyelids,  said  to  be  contagious,  and  they  must  go 
back  on  the  steamer  which  brought  them.  The 
mother  might  remain  here.  Indeed,  she  would 
have  to,  as  there  was  not  money  enough  left  to 
pay  her  way  back  to  her  own  country.  And  if 
she  went  back  she  would  have  no  place  to  go  to. 
There  are  many  such  tragedies  at  the  immigra- 
tion office.  The  inspectors  are  used  to  them  and 
their  indifference  made  the  thing  seem  harder  to 
bear. 

"  Is  it  nothing  to  you  that  I  have  spent  my  all 
to  bring  my  family  here,  where  there  is  oppor- 
tunity for  every  man,  and  now  find  that  for  rea- 
sons beyond  our  control  my  innocent  young  chil- 
dren must  be  torn  from  their  mother  ?  "  is  what 
the  man  said,  in  effect,  wondering  at  the  heart- 
lessness  of  the  letter  of  the  regulations. 

But  he  hastened  to  get  assistance.  Through  a 
friend  he  interested  Mr.  Rockwood  Hoar,  of 
Worcester,  son  of  Senator  Hoar.  Mr.  Hoar  as- 
sured the  immigration  authorities  that  a  bond 
would  be  given  to  guarantee  that  the  children 
would  not  become  public  charges.  When  the  au- 
thorities refused  to  accept  any  bond,  he  per- 
suaded his  father  to  use  his  influence.  The  Sen- 
ator, in  his  turn,  urged  that  the  children  be  ad- 
mitted, telling  the  officers  that  their  father  was 
an  industrious  man,  fully  capable  of  taking  care 
of  his  family.  He  received  word,  in  reply,  that 


226        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

the  terms  of  the  law  were  explicit  and  that  the 
children  with  the  diseased  eyes  would  be  sent 
back  on  the  following  Thursday,  when  the 
steamer  that  brought  them  sailed.  Exceptions 
had  been  made  in  the  past  in  favor  of  special 
cases  and  trouble  had  always  followed.  The 
Senator  then  telegraphed  a  statement  of  the  case 
to  the  officers  in  Washington,  but  they  replied 
that  nothing  could  be  done;  it  was  contrary  to 
public  policy  to  make  an  exception  in  favor  of 
any  one.  He  then  telegraphed  to  Senator  Lodge, 
who  was  in  Washington,  and  Mr.  Lodge  made  an 
unsuccessful  appeal  at  the  Treasury  Department. 
This  was  on  Tuesday.  Mr.  Hoar  telegraphed  to 
the  President  on  Wednesday  morning,  explaining 
the  situation  and  saying  that  if  an  exception  were 
ever  allowable,  it  ought  to  be  made  in  this  case ; 
and  that  the  naturalization  laws,  which  gave  to 
the  minor  children  of  naturalized  citizens  the 
same  rights  as  their  parents,  ought  not  to  be  nulli- 
fied by  the  immigration  laws,  or  the  execution  of 
those  laws.  In  less  than  half  an  hour  after  the 
receipt  of  the  dispatch,  a  message  left  the  White 
House  ordering  the  New  York  immigration  offi- 
cers to  admit  the  children  at  once. 

The  President  believed  that  whatever  might  be 
the  terms  of  the  law,  its  provisions  did  not  ex- 
tend to  such  cases,  and  acted  accordingly.  There 
has  seldom  been  a  finer  example  of  the  genu- 
ineness of  American  democracy.  The  highest 
executive  power  in  the  land  reached  down  to 
put  into  the  mother's  arms  the  suffering  child, 
barred  out  by  the  officers  who  had  decided  to  en- 
force the  letter  rather  than  the  spirit  of  the  law. 


LOVER  OF  HOME  AND  CHILDREN        227 

It  was  the  appeal  of  the  child  to  the  elemental 
man. 

When  the  President  was  in  Worcester  a  few 
months  later,  he  asked  about  the  children,  and 
they  were  taken  to  him  at  Senator  Hoar's  house, 
where,  the  ailment  of  their  eyes  entirely  cured, 
they  looked  the  gratitude  which  their  tongues,  un- 
trained in  English,  could  not  speak. 

The  President  frequently  showed  an  interest 
in  the  families  of  the  men  he  met.  When  the 
train  reached  Nebraska  on  one  of  his  tours  of  the 
country,  Governor  John  H.  Mickey  joined  the 
party  to  escort  it  across  the  commonwealth.  The 
President  was  delighted  to  meet  him  and  asked 
many  questions,  ending  with : 

"  How  many  children  have  you,  Governor  ?  " 

"  Nine,"  the  Governor  replied. 

"  You  are  a  mighty  good  man,"  said  the  Presi- 
dent with  evident  delight.  "  You  are  a  better 
man  than  I  am.  I  have  had  only  six." 

His  love  of  children  was  all-inclusive,  and  chil- 
dren everywhere  loved  him  in  return.  All  those 
who  were  too  little  to  know  how  to  admire  him 
just  loved  him  on  sight.  The  older  ones  did 
both.  There  was  the  little  invalid  in  Portland, 
Oregon,  carried  to  the  curb  on  a  stretcher  to  see 
him  go  by,  when  he  was  passing  through  in  1902. 
He  noticed  her,  stopped  the  carriage,  jumped  out 
and  kissed  her. 

There  was  the  day  in  February,  1911,  when, 
walking  back  to  the  office  of  The  Outlook  after 
luncheon,  he  found  a  lost  nine-year-old,  newly 
arrived  with  his  parents  via  Ellis  Island,  crying  in 
the  streets,  and  dried  the  child's  eyes  and  took  him 


228        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

to  the  East  Twenty-third  Street  police  station, 
where  he  turned  him  over  to  the  matron,  and 
then  swapped  old  memories  with  the  bluecoats 
behind  the  desk,  one  or  two  of  whom  had  been 
on  the  force  when  he  was  Commissioner. 

And  then  there  are  the  countless  stories  of  his 
own,  the  Roosevelt  children,  in  and  out  of  the 
White  House  and  at  Sagamore  Hill,  and  latterly 
there  are  the  photographs  of  him  holding  the 
grandbabies.  Of  these  stories,  a  favorite  in  its 
day  was  about  his  little  boating  and  sleeping  out 
in  blankets  expedition  to  a  remote  sand  beach  on 
the  Sound,  his  companions  being  Kermit,  Archie 
and  their  cousin  Philip.  The  date  was  August  9, 
1902.  The  President  and  the  three  kiddies 
quietly  stole  off  to  the  bay,  eluding  all  eyes  but 
Secretary  Loeb's,  and  that  was  the  evening  when 
the  Pacific  cables  rumpus  broke  like  a  bombshell, 
and  telegrams  and  emissaries  and  magnates  and 
reporters  poured  in  in  vain  upon  the  Roosevelt 
home.  Mr.  Loeb  could  not  say  where  the  Presi- 
dent was.  He  seemed  embarrassed  by  it.  The 
four  simple  livers  returned  in  the  morning  after  a 
bully  time,  and  the  business  of  a  President  on 
vacation  was  resumed.  Subsequently  such  sleep- 
ing-out excursions  were  a  feature  of  every  sum- 
mer. 

And  there  was  the  autumn  day  in  1917  when 
he  sat  for  two  hours  at  the  elbow  of  Justice 
Hoyt  in  Children's  Court,  and  heard  the  cases, 
and  acted  as  unofficial  consulting  Justice,  and 
once,  leaning  over,  whispered  to  a  youngster, 
"  It's  all  right  this  time,  sonny.  You're  all  right. 
But  remember,  don't  do  it  again,  or  he'll  send  you 


Copyright  by  Underwood  and  Underwood 

COluNF.L    AND    MRS.    ROOSEVELT    WITH    THEIR    DAUGHTERS-IN-LAW 
AND   GRANDCHILDREN 


LOVER  OF  HOME  AND  CHILDREN        229 

away !  He'll  send  you  away ! "  And  again, 
after  hearing  how  some  other  juvenile  malefactor 
of  little  wealth  had  made  full  restitution  to  the 
pushcart  man  or  somebody,  the  Roosevelt  fist 
thumped  the  arm  of  the  chair,  with  "  That's  a 
fine  boy !  That  kind  make  first  rate  citizens  !  " 

One  day,  on  the  occasion  of  a  reception  in  the 
White  House  to  a  party  of  distinguished  visitors 
from  the  west,  a  gentleman  and  his  wife  entered, 
and  with  them  their  little  golden-haired  daugh- 
ter, four  years  old.  Mr.  Roosevelt  was  con- 
versing with  some  official  in  his  office  to  the  right 
of  the  reception  room,  with  the  door  —  as  he 
ever  kept  it  —  wide  open. 

"  There's  our  President,"  whispered  the  man, 
pointing  through  the  door. 

"  Is  he  my  President  too  ?  "  lisped  the  baby 
girl. 

"  He  is,"  said  the  man. 

"  Oo-o !  "  said  the  little  one. 

And  out  marched  Mr.  Roosevelt. 

He  walked  straight  to  where  the  party  of 
three  were  standing  and  shook  hands  with  the 
father  and  mother. 

"  Are  you  really  my  President,  too  ? "  re- 
peated the  little  girl. 

"  Why,  of  course  I  am,  dear ! "  said  Mr. 
Roosevelt.  "  Just  wait  till  I  show  you." 

The  President  bolted  back  into  his  office.  A 
moment  later  he  emerged  again.  In  one  hand 
he  held  a  beautiful  long-stemmed  American 
beauty  rose,  in  the  other  was  a  pen-knife  with 
which  he  was  whittling  off  the  thorns  from  the 
stalk. 


230        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

"  We  mustn't  let  it  hurt  the  patty-paws,"  he 
smiled  beamingly  as  he  handed  the  flower  to  the 
little  one. 

"  I  congratulate  you,  Mr.  W ,  and  you, 

madame,  on  having  such  a  charming  little 
daughter,  and  I  thank  you  for  bringing  her  to 
see  me." 

Then  he  shook  hands  again  heartily  and 
passed  on  to  his  other  waiting  guests.  That 
rose  now  rests  in  a  picture  frame  of  a  young 
woman. 

At  the  time  of  the  Barnes  libel  suit,  Mr. 
Roosevelt  was  visiting  the  home  of  Chancellor 
Day  of  Syracuse  University.  During  his  visit 
he  kept  up  his  horseback  exercise,  riding  about 
the  residence  streets  on  a  mount  which  a  local 
admirer  had  loaned.  One  afternoon  a  promi- 
nent Syracusan  looked  up  from  his  newspaper 
on  the  front  porch  and  called  to  his  wife  up- 
stairs :  "  There  goes  Theodore  Roosevelt  on 
horseback." 

At  the  moment  the  six-year-old  son  of  the 
house  was  in  the  bathtub  and  in  nothing  else. 
He  heard  his  father,  rushed  scampering  and 
spattering  downstairs,  out  the  front  door  and 
right  down  the  walk  to  the  middle  of  the  street, 
hoping  for  a  glimpse  of  his  great  idol.  That 
night  at  a  reception  the  father  told  the  Colonel 
of  it. 

"  By  George !  —  By  George !  " —  and  he 
chuckled.  "  You  bring  that  boy  to  me  —  I 
want  to  see  him !  "  He  was  brought,  duly  clad, 
and  was  mounted  for  half  an  hour  on  the  Roose- 
velt knee,  and  told  stories  about  Injuns  and 


BIRD  LOVER  AND  NATURALIST         231 

lions  and  giraffes  and  grizzlies  and  My  Grand- 
children and  when  taken  home,  in  a  trance  state, 
and  measured,  was  found  to  have  grown  an 
inch! 

CHAPTER  XV 

A   BIRD   LOVER   AND    NATURALIST 

THE  versatility  of  Mr.  Roosevelt  was  a  con- 
stant surprise  to  his  fellow  countrymen. 

Into  whatever  path  of  thought  or  activity  he 
turned  he  was  soon  recognized  as  a  master. 
His  aptitude  for  science,  fluency  in  languages, 
love  of  sport,  fondness  for  exercise  were  as 
strongly  marked  as  his  quickness  at  repartee 
and  power  for  delivering  a  thundering  rebuke. 
Recalling  his  skill  as  a  naturalist,  the  New 
York  Sun  says : 

"  John  Burroughs,  the  naturalist,  in  1907  de- 
clared that  he  did  not  know  a  man  with  a 
keener  and  more  comprehensive  interest  in  wild 
life,  an  interest  both  scientific  and  human. 
Speaking  of  the  President's  trip  to  the  Yellow- 
stone Park  in  April,  1903,  Burroughs  said  he 
was  struck  with  the  extent  of  his  natural  his- 
tory knowledge  and  his  trained  powers  of  ob- 
servation. On  that  occasion  the  naturalist  was 
able  to  help  the  President  identify  only  one  bird. 
All  the  others  the  President  recognized  as 
quickly  as  Burroughs  himself." 

It  was  while  the  President's  party  was  bear- 
hunting  in  the  Yellowstone  that  he  remarked: 
"  I  heard  a  Bullock's  oriole  a  little  while  ago." 


232        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

"  You  may  have  heard  one,"  was  the  polite 
objection  of  a  man  familiar  with  the  country, 
"but  I  doubt  it.  Those  birds  won't  come  for 
two  weeks  yet." 

"  I  caught  two  bird  notes  which  could  not  be 
those  of  any  bird  except  an  oriole,"  the  Presi- 
dent insisted. 

"  You  may  have  the  song  twisted,"  observed 
a  friend. 

As  the  members  of  the  party  were  seated  at 
supper  in  the  cabin  that  evening  Roosevelt  sud- 
denly laid  down  his  knife  and  fork  exclaiming, 
"  Look !  Look !  " 

On  a  shrub  before  the  window  was  a  Bul- 
lock's oriole.  Nothing  that '  happened  on  the 
whole  trip  seemed  to  please  the  President  so 
much  as  that  verification  of  his  bird  knowledge. 

Burroughs,  following  a  visit  to  the  President 
at  Sagamore  Hill,  in  1907,  wrote  that  the  one 
passion  of  Roosevelt's  life  seemed  to  be  natural 
history,  for  a  new  warbler  that  had  appeared 
in  the  woods  "  seemed  an  event  that  threw  the 
affairs  of  state  and  the  Presidential  succession 
into  the  background.  He  told  a  political  visitor 
at  that  time  that  it  would  be  impossible  for  him 
to  discuss  politics  then  as  he  wanted  to  talk 
and  hunt  birds,  and  for  the  purpose  he  took  his 
visitors  with  him. 

"  Fancy,"  suggests  Burroughs,  "  a  President 
of  the  United  States  stalking  rapidly  across 
bushy  fields  to  the  woods  eager  as  a  boy  and 
filled  with  the  one  idea  of  showing  to  his  visitors 
the  black-throated  green  warbler !  " 

On  this  walk  the  party  passed  a  large  and 


BIRD  LOVER  AND  NATURALIST         233 

wide-spreading  oak.  The  naturalist  pointed  to 
it  and  observed  that  it  was  a  remarkable  ex- 
ample of  the  noble  tree. 

"  Yes,  and  you  see  by  the  branching  of  that 
oak,"  said  the  President,  "  that  when  it  grew  up 
this  wood  was  an  open  field,  and  maybe  under 
the  plow ;  it  is  only  in  fields  that  oaks  take  that 
form." 

"That  is  true,"  agreed  the  naturalist,  "but 
for  the  minute  when  I  first  observed  the  tree 
my  mind  didn't  take  in  that  fact." 

A  few  days  before  the  visit  of  the  naturalist 
the  Roosevelt  children  had  discovered  a  bird's 
nest  on  the  ground  a  few  yards  in  front  of  the 
house.  The  President  had  concluded  it  was 
the  nest  of  the  grasshopper  sparrow,  as  he  had 
seen  that  bird  about  his  home.  With  the  nat- 
uralist he  went  down  to  investigate  and  found 
two  brownish  mottled  eggs  in  the  nest.  After  a 
quick  glance  he  observed,  "  It  isn't  the  nest  of  the 
grasshopper  sparrow  after  all;  those  are  the 
eggs  of  the  song  sparrow,  though  the  nest 
seems  to  be  more  like  that  of  the  vesper  spar- 
row. If  I  am  not  mistaken,  the  eggs  of  the 
grasshopper  sparrow  are  much  lighter  in  color 
—  almost  white,  with  brown  specks." 

"  Right  again,"  said  Burroughs,  smiling,  "  for 
the  moment  though,  I  had  forgotten  how  the 
eggs  of  the  little  sparrow  differ  from  those  of 
the  song  sparrow."  And,  writing  a  comment 
upon  his  visit,  the  naturalist  took  occasion  to 
remark  that  the  President's  bird  lore  and  wood 
lore  seemed  as  delightfully  fresh  as  if  just 
learned. 


234        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

The  President's  naturalist  friend  once  asked 
him  if  he  had  ever  heard  that  "  rare  piece  of 
bird  music  the  flight  song  of  the  oven  bird." 

"  Yes,"  was  the  reply,  "  we  frequently  hear 
it  of  an  evening,  while  we  are  sitting  on  the 
porch,  right  down  there  at  the  corner  of  the 
woods." 

The  flight  song  of  the  oven-bird  was  unknown, 
according  to  Burroughs,  to  the  older  ornitholo- 
gists, and  as  patient  and  tireless  watchers  as 
Thoreau  never  identified  it.  The  President, 
however,  caught  it  readily  from  his  porch  at 
Sagamore  Hill. 

"  Do  you  see  anything  wrong  with  the  head 
of  that  pronghorn  ? "  asked  Roosevelt  as  he 
handed  Burroughs  a  copy  of  his  "  Ranch  Life 
and  the  Hunting  Trail." 

It  was  a  picture  of  a  hunter  bringing  in  an 
animal  on  the  saddle  behind  him.  Burroughs 
saw  nothing  wrong  with  the  picture.  The 
President  took  the  naturalist  into  one  of  his 
rooms  where  the  mounted  head  of  a  prong- 
horn  hung  over  the  mantel  and  pointed  out  that 
the  eye  was  "  close  under  the  root  of  the  horn," 
whereas  the  artist,  Remington,  had  placed  the 
eye  in  the  picture  two  inches  too  low. 

Roosevelt's  interest  in  birds  and  natural  his- 
tory of  course  dated  from  his  boyhood.  Early 
in  his  teens  he  published  a  list  of  the  birds  in 
Franklin  County,  New  York.  He  kept  a  bird 
journal  at  the  age  of  fourteen,  when  he  was  in 
Egypt,  and  on  that  tour  with  his  father  up  the 
Nile  to  Luxor  his  success  as  a  naturalist  was 
foreshadowed,  for  he  made  a  collection  of 


BIRD  LOVER  AND  NATURALIST         235 

Egyptian  birds  found  in  the  Nile  Valley  which 
is  now  in  the  Smithsonian  Museum,  in  Wash- 
ington, D.  C. 

A  thin  pamphlet  entitled  "  The  Birds  of 
Oyster  Bay,"  and  long  out  of  print,  was  prob- 
ably Roosevelt's  first  venture  into  literature. 

When  he  went  to  Harvard  —  Burroughs  ex- 
presses the  conviction  —  it  was  his  ambition  to 
be  a  naturalist,  but  there  he  became  convinced 
that  all  the  out-of-door  worlds  of  natural  his- 
tory had  been  conquered  and  that  the  only 
worlds  remaining  were  to  be  conquered  through 
the  laboratory,  the  microscope,  and  the  scalpel. 

In  his  natural  history  studies,  as  in  all  his 
other  undertakings,  Colonel  Roosevelt  was  most 
painstaking  and  accurate  and  on  more  than  one 
occasion  he  emerged  triumphant  from  a  dis- 
pute with  some  professional  natural  historian 
over  some  rare  specimen. 

Scientists  generally  acknowledged  the  Colonel 
an  authority  in  this  field.  Carl  Akeley,  head  of 
the  elephant-hunting  expedition  in  Africa  for 
the  American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  and 
now  connected  with  the  Elephant  Hall  of  the 
Museum,  paid  tribute  to  this  phase  of  Colonel 
Roosevelt's  accomplishments.  Mr.  Akeley,  while 
hunting  elephants  in  the  African  wilds,  en- 
countered the  Roosevelt  expedition  there  and 
hunted  with  the  party  for  some  days. 

"  Colonel  Roosevelt  was  an  amateur  naturalist, 
and  yet  he  was  a  naturalist  of  splendid  training," 
said  Mr.  Akeley.  "  He  had  the  keen  eye  and 
mind  of  the  ideal  naturalist  and  he  was  further 
aided  by  a  phenomenal  memory  such  as  few 


236         ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

men  possess.  He  found  infinite  joy  in  study- 
ing wild  animal  life  in  its  native  haunts  and 
the  least  of  his  pleasure  in  killing  it.  His  great- 
est pleasures  lay  in  seeing  and  learning,  thereby 
proving  him  an  ideal  naturalist. 

As  a  nature  lover  at  all  times,  the  President 
seems  to  have  stood  the  test  of  being  able  to 
see  little  things  as  well  as  big  things,  and  of 
seeing  without  effort  and  premeditation.  Yet 
a  degree  of  patience  was  required  for  the  ac- 
cumulation of  his  knowledge  in  these  fields. 
The  warblers,  both  in  color  and  in  song,  are 
bewildering  to  the  experienced  ornithologist. 
Nevertheless,  Burroughs  says,  the  President  had 
mastered  every  one  of  them. 

He  wrote  Burroughs  one  day  that  he  had  just 
come  in  from  walking  with  Mrs.  Roosevelt 
about  the  White  House  grounds  looking  up  the 
arriving  warblers. 

"  Most  of  the  warblers,"  he  said,  "  were  up  in 
the  tops  of  the  trees,  and  I  could  not  get  a 
glimpse  of  them,  but  there  was  one  with  chest- 
nut cheeks,  with  bright  yellow  behind  the 
cheeks,  and  a  yellow  breast  thickly  streaked  with 
black,  which  has  puzzled  me.  I  saw  the  black 
burrian,  the  summer  yellow  bird  and  the  black- 
throated  green." 

But  he  did  not  let  his  yellow-breasted  visitor 
go  away  without  learning  his  name.  A  few 
days  later  he  wrote,  "  I  have  identified  the  war- 
bler. It  is  the  Cape  May." 

After  Mr.  Roosevelt's  death  John  Burroughs 
paid  the  following  tribute  to  his  friend's  skill 
and  knowledge  as  a  naturalist: 


BIRD  LOVER  AND  NATURALIST         237 

"  Colonel  Roosevelt  was  a  born  naturalist.  He 
made  a  collection  of  birds  in  Egypt  when  he 
was  a  mere  lad.  He  knew  our  native  birds  quite 
as  well  as  I,  even  the  shy,  elusive  wood  war- 
blers, and  as  for  the  animal  life  of  the  globe,  he 
knew  it  as  few  men  do. 

"  During  the  last  term  of  his  Presidency,  he 
asked  me  to  go  with  him  one  May  day  down  to 
a  retreat  he  had  in  the  woods  of  Virginia,  called 
Pine  Knot  and  help  him  name  his  birds.  We 
spent  three  days  there  and  identified  over  eighty 
species  of  birds  and  fowl.  He  taught  me  two 
new  birds,  Bewick's  wren,  and  one  of  the  rare 
warblers,  and  I  taught  him  two,  the  swamp  spar- 
row and  one  other,  just  what,  I  now  forget.  He 
had  heard  and  seen  Lincoln's  sparrow  in  an  old 
weedy  field,  and  on  Sunday  after  church,  he 
took  me  there  and  we  waited  around  for  an 
hour,  but  the  sparrow  did  not  appear.  Had  he 
found  this  bird  again,  he  would  have  been  one 
bird  ahead  of  me. 

"  I  asked  him  if  he  had  seen  the  little  gray 
gnat-catcher  in  that  vicinity.  "Yes,"  he  said, 
"  I  saw  one  yesterday."  He  took  me  to  the  place, 
a  little  run  with  some  old  plum  trees  on  its 
bank,  and  instantly  said :  '  There  it  is  now.' 
And  sure  enough  there  was  the  tiny  bird  in  a 
field  nearby.  We  found  the  male  and  female 
blue  grosbeaks. 

"  Roosevelt  was  death  on  nature- fakers  as 
he  called  those  writers  who  falsified  nature,  and 
he  dealt  them  some  crushing  blows.  It  was  al- 
most impossible  to  deceive  him  on  subjects  of 
natural  history." 


238         ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

And  Vilhjalmur  Stefansson,  President  of  the 
Explorer's  Club,  added  this  important  testimony : 

"  It  is  to  be  supposed  that  there  were  some 
fields  on  which  Colonel  Roosevelt  was  ill  in- 
formed, but  none  of  these  came  to  my  attention 
nor,  so  far  as  I  know,  to  the  attention  of  any  of 
my  many  friends  in  the  fields  of  scientific  explor- 
ation. Many  would  say  that  Frank  Chapman, 
Curator  of  Birds  at  the  American  Museum,  is 
the  greatest  authority  on  birds  in  America,  yet 
when  I  asked  him  what  he  thought  of  Colonel 
Roosevelt  as  an  ornithologist,  Chapman  replied, 
'  The  Colonel  knows  more  about  birds  than  I 
do,'  and  similar  things  were  continually  being 
said  of  him  by  specialists  in  other  fields  of 
knowledge." 


CHAPTER  XVI 

THE   AUTHOR   AND   MAN   OF    INTELLECT 

THE  intellectual  breadth  and  development 
of  Mr.  Roosevelt  was  one  of  the  greatest  mar- 
vels noted  by  those  who  met  him  during  his 
European  tour,  just  as  it  always  was  a  matter 
of  comment  among  his  friends  at  home.  Wal- 
ter Wellman  described,  in  the  American  Review 
of  Reviews,  at  that  time,  something  of  the 
impression  created  among  Europeans  by 
Mr.  Roosevelt's  surprising  versatility :  "  Every- 
where he  insisted  upon  meeting  all  sorts  of  peo- 
ple and  visiting  all  sorts  of  places,  and  from  the 
White  Nile  to  the  Danube  men  were  surprised 


AUTHOR  AND  'MAN  OF  INTELLECT        239 

at  his  geniality,  his  good  fellowship,  his  humor, 
his  energy,  his  frankness,  his  curiosity  or  desire 
for  knowledge,  which  found  vent  in  the  asking 
of  myriads  of  questions,  and  in  his  remarkable 
versatility,  his  familiarity  with  history,  arche- 
ology, architecture,  politics,  and  persons  —  from 
his  knowledge  of  Arabic  literature  to  his  ac- 
quaintance with  the  antiquities  of  Egypt  and 
Rome.  This  versatility  did  not  surprise  his 
American  comrades,  who  knew  of  his  marvelous 
faculty  for  reading  photographically  and  retain- 
ing in  the  memory,  but  it  amazed  the  foreigners. 
And  when  he  had  occasion  to  speak  at  universi- 
ties, schools,  banquets,  whether  he  spoke  with- 
out or  with  preparation,  his  hearers,  whether 
English,  Egyptian,  Italian,  or  Austrian,  almost 
to  a  man  looked  upon  him  as  one  of  the  greatest 
orators  they  had  ever  heard." 

Mr.  Roosevelt  told  most  informally  in  a  let- 
ter from  Khartum  to  The  Outlook  the  titles  of 
some  of  the  books  he  had  taken  with  him  to 
read  on  various  trips.  Although  he  said  "  I 
cannot,  of  course,  begin  to  remember  all  the 
books  I  have  at  different  times  taken  out  with 
me,"  and  "  I  take  with  me  on  any  trip,  or  on  all 
trips  put  together,  but  a  very  small  proportion  of 
the  books  that  I  like,  and  I  like  very  many  and 
very  different  kinds  of  books,"  even  the  frag- 
mentary list  he  mentioned  in  this  letter  is  be- 
wildering to  an  average  man.  Among  them  are 
"  Memoirs  of  Marbot,"  ^Eschylus,  Sophocles, 
Aristotle,  the  Odyssey,  volumes  of  Gibbon  and 
Parkman.  Lounsbury's  Chaucer,  Theocritus, 
Lea's  "  History  of  the  Inquisition,"  Lord  Ac- 


240         ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

ton's  Essays  and  Ridgeway's  "  Prehistoric 
Greece,"  Ferrero's  "  History  of  Rome,"  De  La 
Gorce's  "  History  of  the  Second  Republic  and 
Second  Empire,"  Euripides,  Murray's  "History 
of  the  Greek  Epic,"  Mahaffy's  Essays  on  Hellen- 
istic Greece,  Polybius  Arrian,  Schiller,  Koerner, 
Heine,  Morris'  translations  of  various  Norse 
sagas,  including  the  "  Heimskringla,"  and  so  on 
through  the  classics,  ancient  and  modern  history, 
philosophy,  and  transient  fiction. 

A  foreign  ambassador  exclaimed  to  President 
Roosevelt  one  time  at  Oyster  Bay,  says  Henry 
Beach  Needham:  "When  did  you  ever  find 
time  to  get  that  information  ? "  and  the  Presi- 
dent answered  with  a  smile :  "  I  have  a  store 
of  rather  useless  information.  The  getting  of 
it  has  been  a  relaxation.  For  instance,  when  I 
have  been  hard  at  work  on  some  big  state  ques- 
tion, I  liked  nothing  better  than  to  study  out 
the  dismemberment  of  the  empire  of  Alexander 
the  Great."  All  through  life  Roosevelt  has  been 
steadily  adding  to  that  "  store." 

He  laid  strong  hands  upon  knowledge  and 
opportunities  wherever  they  came  in  his  way, 
and  many  times  he  went  out  of  his  way  to  find 
them.  During  the  years  he  was  in  public  life  he 
addressed  hundreds  of  political,  business,  labor, 
ethical  and  social  assemblages  on  almost  every 
conceivable  topic,  but  always  he  was  ready  with 
a  message  that  went  straight  to  the  spot.  Some- 
where in  his  "  store  "  he  always  found  just  the 
thing  which  the  occasion  required. 

Long  before  his  public  career  began,  Mr. 
Roosevelt  conceived  the  belief  that  he  was  to  be 


AUTHOR  AND  MAN  OF  INTELLECT        241 

a  writer.  Even  after  he  had  served  several 
terms  in  the  New  York  Legislature,  and  had 
worked  zealously  as  Civil  Service  Commissioner 
in  Washington,  he  still  held  to  the  idea  that 
authorship  was  to  be  his  real  life  work. 

He  had  inherited  fortune  enough  so  that  it 
was  not  necessary  for  him  to  work  for  a  mere 
subsistence,  but  he  was  not  content  to  be  idle. 
His  energies  had  to  be  employed  in  some  way, 
and  the  pursuit  of  literature  appealed  to  him. 
Later,  as  his  family  grew,  he  confessed  to  friends 
that  it  had  now  become  necessary  for  him  to 
write  if  he  was  to  give  his  children  the  education 
which  he  desired  for  them.  The  income  from 
his  inheritance  was  not  large  enough  of  itself. 

It  is  surprising  that  in  the  midst  of  his  stren- 
uous busy  life,  all  through  the  years,  he  found 
time,  or  made  time,  to  write  so  many  important 
books.  The  New  York  Times,  commenting  on 
this  phase  of  his  work,  said,  "  Few  men  deserv- 
ing so  well  as  Theodore  Roosevelt  to  be  char- 
acterized as  men  of  action  have  written  as  much 
as  he,  and  still  fewer  of  them  have  written  as 
well  —  with  as  much  both  of  lucidity  and  ele- 
gance, as  much  of  fervor  and  of  obvious  pleas- 
ure in  the  sedentary  art.  His  writings,  too,  were 
in  amazingly  numerous  fields  for  one  constantly 
engaged  in  doing  the  things  that  provide  ma- 
terial for  others  to  write  about.  And,  just  as  it 
was  hard  to  tell  what  were  his  vocations  and 
what  his  avocations,  so  it  was  not  easy  to  de- 
cide whether  it  was  as  a  historian,  a  statesman, 
or  a  naturalist  that  Roosevelt  the  writer  found 
his  most  congenial  and  grateful  domain. 


242         ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

"Probably  there  will  be  no  final  verdict  on 
that  question,  but  several,  each  reached  through 
the  personal  taste  or  preference  of  the  judge. 
Yet  it  is  at  least  the  safest,  or  least  dangerous, 
prophecy  to  say  that  of  all  the  Colonel's  many 
books,  his  innumerable  magazine  and  newspaper 
articles,  those  devoted  to  what  used  to  be  called 
natural  history  —  to  his  observations  of,  and  ad- 
ventures among,  animals,  birds,  and  fishes  — 
most  nearly  approached  to  perfection  in  style  and 
content,  will  live  longest,  and  have  in  the  future 
the  most  numerous  and  most  appreciative 
readers." 

His  first  book  was  a  naval  history  of  the 
War  of  1812,  which  was  published  when  he  was 
twenty-four  years  old,  and  had  been  out  of  col- 
lege only  two  years.  The  reason  the  subject  at- 
tracted him  was  characteristic.  The  histories 
which  he  had  read  were  one-sided.  They  gave 
too  much  credit  to  the  American  Navy  and  too 
little  to  the  British.  The  facts  were  not  fairly 
presented.  He  thought  that,  in  justice  to  both 
sides,  a  more  accurate  account  of  the  war  with  a 
more  impartial  estimate  of  the  military  signifi- 
cance of  the  victories  ought  to  be  prepared.  He 
did  this  work  so  successfully  that  the  critics  of 
greatest  authority  commended  him,  declaring 
that  "  the  impartiality  of  the  author's  judgment 
and  the  thoroughness  with  which  the  evidence 
is  sifted  are  remarkable  and  worthy  of  high 
praise."  When  an  English  publisher  prepared  a 
history  of  the  British  Navy,  Mr.  Roosevelt  was 
asked  to  write  the  history  of  its  exploits  in  this 
war.  He  made  himself  an  authority  on  the 


AUTHOR  AND  'MAN  OF  INTELLECT        243 

subject  at  an  age  when  young  men  are  author- 
ities only  on  tennis,  baseball,  polo,  golf,  or,  pos- 
sibly, bridge  whist. 

His  next  book  grew  out  of  his  ranching  ex- 
periences, and  was  published  in  1885,  three 
years  after  the  first.  It  was  called  "  Hunting 
Trips  of  a  Ranchman :  Sketches  of  Sport  on 
the  Northern  Cattle  Plains,  together  with  Per- 
sonal Experiences  of  Life  on  a  Cattle  Ranch." 
It  was  profusely  illustrated,  and  first  published 
in  an  edition  limited  to  five  hundred  copies  and 
sold  by  subscription  for  fifteen  dollars.  In  honor 
of  the  author's  ranch  town,  it  was  called  the 
"  Medora  Edition." 

His  literary  and  historical  reputation  was  suf- 
ficiently established  by  this  time  for  the  pub- 
lishers of  a  series  of  biographies  of  American 
statesmen  to  ask  him  to  write  the  lives  of 
Thomas  Hart  Benton  and  Gouverneur  Morris. 
These  were  published  in  separate  volumes,  in 
1886  and  1887.  And  in  1887  there  also  ap- 
peared with  his  name  on  the  title-page  a  volume 
of  "  Essays  on  Practical  Politics."  Another  vol- 
ume based  on  his  western  experiences  came  out 
the  next  year,  with  the  title  "  Ranch  Life  and  the 
Hunting  Trail."  It  is  devoted  to  a  description 
of  life  on  the  plains  as  it  was  lived  in  the  early 
eighties  of  the  last  century.  That  life  is  fast 
disappearing  with  the  fencing  of  the  ranges  and 
the  growing  density  of  population.  Mr.  Roose- 
velt's book  will  be  increasingly  interesting,  not 
only  as  a  record  of  experiences  of  one  of  the 
Presidents,  but  also  an  account  of  conditions 
that  once  existed  in  the  West. 


244        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

In  1889  the  first  two  volumes  of  "  Winning  of 
the  West "  appeared,  his  historical  work  of 
greatest  dignity  and  value.  The  third  volume 
was  published  in  1894.  It  deals  with  the  period 
from  1784  to  1790,  and  describes  the  founding 
of  the  trans-Allegheny  commonwealths.  What 
happened  in  the  period  covered  by  the  volume, 
Mr.  Roosevelt  briefly  summarizes  in  the  preface. 
"  It  was  during  those  seven  years,"  he  writes, 
"  that  the  Constitution  was  adopted  and  actually 
went  into  effect  an  event,  if  possible,  even  more 
momentous  for  the  West  than  for  the  East. 
The  time  was  one  of  vital  importance  to  the 
whole  nation;  alike  to  the  people  of  the  inland 
frontier  and  to  those  of  the  seaboard.  The 
course  of  events  during  those  years  determined 
whether  we  should  become  a  mighty  nation  or  a 
mere  snarl  of  weak  and  quarrelsome  little  com- 
monwealths, with  a  history  as  bloody  and  mean- 
ingless as  that  of  the  Spanish-American  states." 

It  should  be  noted  here  by  the  student  of  Mr. 
Roosevelt's  intellectual  and  political  growth,  that 
for  many  years  he  had  been  occupied  with  the 
study  of  the  development  and  expansion  of  the 
United  States,  from  the  point  of  view  of  the 
historian,  modified  by  the  experience  of  practi- 
cal political  life.  It  was  not  as  a  mere  tyro  that 
he  entered  upon  the  management  of  the  execu- 
tive affairs  of  the  government  in  accordance  with 
the  national  policy  that  had  grown  up  during  a 
century.  If  fate  had  intended  him  for  the  Presi- 
dency, he  could  have  had  no  better  training  in 
Americanism,  properly  so  called,  than  he  secured 
through  his  studies  for  this  book.  The  fourth 


AUTHOR  AND  MAN  OF  INTELLECT        245 

volume  of  it  was  published  in  1896,  and  in  1898 
he  was  planning  to  complete  the  fifth  volume  if 
he  should  not  be  elected  Governor  of  New  York. 

His  historical  studies  were  not  confined  to  the 
incorporation  of  the  great  West  into  the  nation. 
He  wrote  a  "  History  of  New  York  City,"  pub- 
lished in  1891,  in  which  he  says:  "  It  has  been 
my  aim  less  to  collect  new  facts  than  to  draw 
from  the  immense  storehouse  of  facts  already 
collected  those  which  were  of  real  importance 
in  New  York  history,  and  to  show  their  true 
meaning  and  their  relations  to  one  another;  to 
sketch  the  workings  of  the  town's  life,  social, 
commercial,  and  political,  at  successive  periods, 
with  their  sharp  transformations  and  contrasts, 
and  to  trace  the  causes  which  gradually  changed 
the  little  Dutch  trading  hamlet  into  a  huge  Amer- 
ican city." 

These  historical  subjects  are  peculiarly  Amer- 
ican, involving  either  the  absorption  of  vast  ter- 
ritory into  the  national  domain  or  the  building 
of  a  great  city  from  the  many  and  diverse  peo- 
ples that  have  sought  freedom  of  opportunity 
to  live  their  life  in  their  own  way  on  these 
shores. 

His  history  of  New  York  was  followed  in 
1893  by  "The  Wilderness  Hunter:  an  Account 
of  the  Big  Game  of  the  United  States,  and  Its 
Chase  with  Horse,  Hound  and  Rifle."  This  is 
a  hunting  history,  illustrated  with  pictures  of  the 
animals  killed  by  Mr.  Roosevelt  himself,  besides 
much  interesting  hunting  lore.  He  collaborated 
with  G.  B.  Grinnell  in  writing  three  hunting 
books  for  the  Boone  and  Crockett  Club,  namely, 


246         ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

"  American  Big  Game  Hunting,"  "  Hunting  in 
Many  Lands,"  and  "  Trail  and  Camp  Fire."  He 
also  collaborated  with  Henry  Cabot  Lodge  in  the 
preparation  of  a  volume  of  "  Hero  Tales  from 
American  History." 

In  1897,  ten  years  after  his  first  volume  of 
political  essays,  he  published  another  collection 
under  the  title  "  American  Ideals ;  and  Other  Es- 
says, Social  and  Political."  The  subjects  of  the 
various  chapters  show  pretty  well  the  range  of 
his  interests.  Here  they  are :  "  True  Amer- 
icanism," "  The  Manly  Virtues  and  Practical 
Politics,"  "The  College  Graduate  and  Public 
Life,"  "  Phases  of  State  Legislation,"  "  Machine 
Politics  in  New  York  City,"  "  Six  Years  of 
Civil  Service  Reform,"  "  Administering  the 
New  York  Police  Force,"  "  The  Vice-Presidency 
and  the  Campaign  of  1896,"  "  How  Not  to  Help 
Our  Poorer  Brother,"  "  The  Monroe  Doctrine," 
"  Washington's  Forgotten  Maxims,"  "  National 
Life  and  Character,"  "  Social  Evolution,"  and 
"  The  Law  of  Civilization  and  Decay." 

He  told  the  story  of  the  raising  of  the  regi- 
ment of  Rough  Riders  and  of  its  career  in  Cuba 
and  afterward,  in  a  volume  published  in  1899. 
As  the  regiment  itself  was  unique,  this  history 
is  unrivaled  for  the  frankness  with  which  the 
story  is  told,  and  for  the  skill  of  the  writer  in 
selecting  from  a  large  mass  of  materials  that 
which  would  give  the  proper  impression  of  what 
was  done,  and  at  the  same  time  preserve  the 
human  interest  in  a  military  campaign. 

In  the  following  year  he  published  a  "  Life  of 
Oliver  Cromwell,"  which  is  deeply  interesting, 


AUTHOR  AND  MAN  OF  INTELLECT        247 

for  it  presents  the  picture  of  one  man  of  action 
through  the  eyes  of  another  man  of  action,  who 
is  also  at  the  same  time  a  trained  writer  and 
student  of  history.  His  third  volume  of  essays, 
"  The  Strenuous  Life,"  appeared  in  1900  also. 
And  in  1902,  "  The  Deer  Family,"  another  hunt- 
ing book,  was  issued,  with  his  name  as  collabor- 
ator with  others  on  the  title  page.  "  Outdoor 
Pastimes  of  an  American  Hunter"  (1905),  was 
followed  by  "  Good  Hunting  "  1907,  and  "  Afri- 
can Game  Trails"  (1909),  many  scenes  of 
which  were  written  in  camp  just  after  the  hunt- 
ing excursions  described.  This  volume,  which 
has  since  become  well  known,  was  described  by  a 
writer  for  the  National  Geographic  Society  as  an 
"  unusual  contribution  to  science,  geography, 
literature  and  adventure.  Naturalists  will  prize 
the  accurate  descriptions  of  the  huge  beasts  by  a 
hunter  naturalist.  He  is  the  first  naturalist  of 
much  experience  with  American  big  game  to 
study  all  the  large  species  of  Africa,  so  that  his 
comparisons  and  observations  form  a  particularly 
valuable  contribution  to  knowledge." 

Other  works  produced  during  the  last  ten 
years  of  his  life  are  "  True  Americanism,'* 
"  African  and  European  Addresses,"  "  Thfe  New 
Nationalism"  (1910),  "  Realieable  Ideals," 
"  Conservation  of  Womanhood  and  Childhood  " 
(1912),  "History  as  Literature  and  Other  Es- 
says," "  Theodore  Roosevelt,  an  Autobiography  " 
(1913),  "Life  Histories  of  African  Game  Ani- 
mals" (1914),  "America  and  the  World  War" 
(1915),  "A  Book-Lover's  Holidays  in  the 
Open"  (1916),  "Fear  God  and  Take  Your 


248        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

Own  Part"  (1916),  "The  Foes  of  Our  Own 
Household"  (1917),  and  "The  Great  Adven- 
ture "  (1918). 

Almost  any  other  man  might  well  have  rested 
his  fame  for  an  abundant  life  work  on  these 
books  dealing  with  so  many  varied  subjects,  and 
reaching  often  so  exalted  a  plane  of  morals  and 
patriotism ;  yet,  speaking  at  a  dinner  one  time,  of 
the  Periodical  Publishers'  Association  in  Wash- 
ington, he  took  a  retrospective  look  at  his  lit- 
erary career,  as  though  it  were  ended,  for  he 
said,  "  In  the  days  of  my  youth  I  was  a  literary 
man." 

A  pleasant  picture  of  him  on  this  occasion 
was  presented  by  Mr.  Walter  Wellman  in  the 
Chicago  Record-Herald.  He  wrote : 

"  Probably  President  Roosevelt  never  spent 
a  happier  two  hours  than  last  night,  when  he 
was  the  guest  of  honor  of  the  Periodical  Pub- 
lishers. The  President  had  agreed  to  stay  at 
the  dinner  from  9:45  to  II  o'clock,  but  he  liked 
the  show  so  well  he  remained  till  midnight  and 
then  held  a  reception,  greeting  every  one  present. 
Mr.  Roosevelt  made  a  speech  to  the  publishers, 
the  authors  and  artists  and  their  other  guests,  and 
was  enthusiastically  applauded.  It  was  not  the 
best  speech  the  President  has  ever  made,  but  it 
was  good  enough,  and  it  pleased  the  people  who 
heard  it.  Mr.  Roosevelt  is  not  an  orator,  and 
makes  no  pretensions  in  that  direction,  but  there 
is  something  very  fascinating  about  his  earnest- 
ness, and  he  captivated  the  men  of  the  periodical 
press,  as  he  has  captivated  many  audiences  be- 
fore. Many  were  pleased  at  the  manner  in 


AUTHOR  AND  MAN  OF  INTELLECT        249 

which  Mr.  Roosevelt  threw  himsdf  into  the 
spirit  of  the  occasion.  The  wit  and  the  humor 
of  the  addresses  had  no  more  appreciative  lis- 
tener than  the  President  of  the  United  States. 
He  expressed  his  pleasure  by  characteristic 
shakes  of  the  head,  strenuous  gestures,  broad 
smiles,  and  congratulations  waved  across  the 
banquet  hall.  It  was  a  common  remark  among 
the  eminent  authors,  artists,  and  publishers  as- 
sembled that  it  is  a  fine  thing  to  have  a  President 
who  is  so  human,  so  warm  in  his  sympathies,  so 
keen  and  discriminating  in  his  understanding  of 
all  human  endeavor." 

In  all  Mr.  Roosevelt's  writings,  says  The  Sun, 
New  York,  there  was  a  certain  metallic  concise- 
ness of  style  and  effect.  This  was  particularly 
noticeable  in  his  long  messages  to  Congress.  But 
the  "  effect  of  plain  statements  often  repeated 
and  enlivened  by  striking  phrases  here  and  there 
which  came  about  by  accident  or  design  was  never 
absent  in  his  many  messages  and  speeches."  It 
was  in  describing  experiences  out  of  doors  or  in 
referring  to  wild  animal  or  bird  life  that  he  gave 
his  best  evidences  of  a  keenly  emotional  nature. 
Yet,  during  his  leadership  of  the  Progressives 
in  1912,  his  public  speaking  took  on  an  emo- 
tional character  of  such  a  nature  that  some  of 
his  speeches  will  hardly  be  found  to  be  surpassed 
for  sheer  eloquence  in  the  history  of  American 
oratory.  The  peroration  of  his  Carnegie  Hall 
address,  for  instance,  stands  unique,  surcharged 
by  all  the  circumstances  attending  it  and  through 
its  literary  form  with  emotion  electric  in  its  na- 
ture and  effect. 


250        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

His  gift  of  phrase-making  was  an  essential 
part  of  his  picturesque  Americanism.  His 
phrases  frequently  became  an  integral  part  of 
the  common  speech,  and  few  of  those  accepted 
have  as  yet  become  obsolete.  Without  effort  ap- 
parently he  made  famous  the  "  strenuous  life," 
the  "larger  good,"  "the  square  deal,"  "the 
predatory  rich,"  "  mollycoddles  and  weaklings," 
"  undesirable  citizens,"  "  beaten  to  a  frazzle," 
"  civic  righteousness,"  "  deliberate  and  infamous 
mendacity,"  and  the  "  hat  in  the  ring,"  "  the  big 
stick,"  "  parlor  Bolshevists,"  "  rosewater  re- 
formers," "  out-patients  of  Bedlam,"  "  race  sui- 
cide," "  nature  faker,"  "  muckraker,"  "  male- 
factor of  great  wealth,"  "  weasel  words,"  "  pussy- 
footers,"  "  hyphenated  Americans,"  "  bush-league 
czars,"  "  as  clean  as  a  hound's  tooth,"  "  an  elderly 
fuddy-duddy  with  sweetbread  brains,"  and  many 
others. 

The  sentence  in  which  the  "  strenuous  life  " 
was  first  used  by  Roosevelt  he  spoke  in  a  speech 
at  the  Hamilton  Club  in  Chicago  in  1899,  and 
it  embodies  the  expression  of  his  strenuous  moral 
philosophy :  "  I  wish  to  preach,  not  the  doctrine 
of  ignoble  ease,  but  the  doctrine  of  the  strenuous 
life  of  toil  and  effort,  of  labor  and  strife ;  to 
preach  that  highest  form  of  success  which  comes, 
not  to  the  man  who  desires  mere  easy  peace, 
but  to  the  man  who  does  not  shrink  from 
danger,  from  hardships,  or  from  bitter  toil,  and 
who  out  of  these  wins  the  splendid  ultimate 
triumph." 

In  the  matter  of  form  his  care  was  to  be  force- 
ful, and  except  in  some  important  speeches  and 


AUTHOR  AND  MAN  OF  INTELLECT        251 

written  appeals  to  the  people  or  his  party,  his 
composition  was  matter  of  fact,  though  unex- 
celled in  forceful  directness.  He  was  versed  in 
the  world's  literature.  Trevelyan  speaks  of  Mac- 
aulay's  "  omnivorous  and  insatiable  appetite  for 
books,"  and  it  was  this  sort  of  desire  for  books 
that  was  Roosevelt's  at  all  times,  whether  in  the 
White  House,  on  his  campaigns,  in  the  West,  in 
Africa,  or  in  the  hospital  in  Chicago  recovering 
from  the  bullet  wound  by  Schrank.  In  the  thick 
of  the  campaign  of  1904  he  reread  all  of  Mac- 
aulay's  "  History  of  England,"  all  of  Rhodes' 
"  History  of  the  United  States,"  and  Dickens' 
"  Martin  Chuzzlewit" 

He  had  by  nature  and  practice  the  faculty  of 
extremely  rapid  reading.  He  read  a  book  or 
magazine  whenever  it  was  convenient  at  home  or 
on  his  journeys.  In  the  matter  of  his  reading 
and  writing  he  was  described  as  a  "  man  of  let- 
ters in  love  with  life."  Commentators  have  said 
that  he  read  little  after  leaving  college  with  the 
intention  of  training  himself  in  literary  forms, 
but  attained  his  intellectual  attitude  and  literary 
style  by  wide  reading,  concentrated  thinking,  and 
constant  practice. 

The  public  of  Europe  and  America  was  in- 
terested at  the  time  in  the  books  Roosevelt 
took  with  him  to  Africa,  known  as  the  "  Pigskin 
Library  "  because  of  the  binding,  which  fitted 
them  for  use  under  all  circumstances  and  kept 
them  looking  outwardly  like  well  used  "  saddle 
surfaces  "  when  they  became  stained  with  blood 
and  sweat.  The  original  list  of  the  "  Pigskin 
Library  "  follows : 


252        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

Bible 

Apocrypha 

Borrow     Bible  in  Spain 

Zincali 

Lavengro 

Wild  Wales 

The  Romany  Rye 
Shakespeare 

Spencer    Faerie  Queen 

Marlowe 

Mahan    Sea  Power 

Macaulay  History 

Essays 

Poems 
Homer    llliad 

Odyssey 

Chanson  de  Roland 
Nibelungenlied 

Carlyle    Frederick  the  Great 

Shelley    Poems 

Bacon    Essays 

Lowell    Literary  Essays 

Biglow  Papers 

Emerson    Poems 

Longfellow 
Tennyson 

Poe    Tales 

Keats    Poems 

Milton    Paradise  Lost  (Book  i  and  2) 

Dante    Inferno   (Carlyle's  translation) 

Holmes  Autocrat 

Over  the  Teacups 
Bret  Harte  Poems 

Tales  of  the  Argonauts 

Luck  of  Roaring  Camp 

Browning    Selections 

Crothers    Gentle  Reader 

Pardoner's  Wallet 
Mark  Twain Huckleberry  Finn 

Tom  Sawyer 
Bunyan    Pilgrim's  Progress 


THE  MAN  OF  ACTION  253 

Euripides  (Murray's 
translation)     Hippolytus 

Bacchae 
The  Federalist 

Gregorovius    Rome 

Scott   Legend  of  Montrose 

Guy  Mannering 

Waverley 

Rob  Roy 

Antiquary 
Cooper   Pilot 

Two  Admirals 
Froissart 
Percy's  Reliques 
Thackeray   Vanity  Fair 

Pendennis 
Dickens    Mutual  Friend 

Pickwick 


CHAPTER  XVII 

THE   MAN   OF  VIGOR  AND  ACTION 

THE  outstanding  characteristic  of  Mr.  Roose- 
velt's life,  the  one  thing  most  commented  upon, 
and  pictured  in  cartoons  was  his  ever  abound- 
ing vitality  and  strenuous  activity.  In  previous 
chapters  of  this  book  the  story  has  been  told  of 
how  by  a  deliberate  purpose  and  plan  he  grew 
from  a  delicate,  almost  feeble  boy,  whose  condi- 
tion was  cause  for  anxiety,  into  an  athlete  of 
surpassing  vigor  and  endurance,  full  and  firm  of 
muscle,  steady  of  nerve,  with  blood  pure  and 
rich,  and  boundless  exuberance  of  spirit.  His 
chest  was  expanded  until  his  capacious  lungs  were 
qualified  to  feed  his  blood  with  oxygen ;  and  >his 


254        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

vigorous  heart  drove  the  rich,  vitalized  fluid 
through  his  big  neck  into  his  active  brain.  The 
tireless,  purposeful  expression  of  all  this  dynamic 
vitality  of  body  and  spirit  became  known  to  the 
world  as  "  the  strenuous  life." 

He  went  into  the  African  jungle  after  nearly 
thirty  years  of  strenuous  public  service.  The 
professors  said  he  would  succumb  to  fever  or 
the  sleeping  sickness.  Some  of  his  native  es- 
corts went  down,  but  he  came  back  "  rejuven- 
ated." Henry  Beach  Needham  wrote  to  Collier's 
of  the  returning  hunter's  superb  health,  "  his  re- 
sistless youth  .  .  .  like  a  fighter  trained  to  the 
minute  .  .  .  appallingly  healthy  and  effusively 
strenuous." 

"  As  President,  physical  culture  was,"  writes 
Allen  Day  in  Putnam's,  "  as  serious  with  Mr. 
Roosevelt  as  the  gravest  questions  of  State.  .  .  . 
He  said  himself  that  it  would  be  utterly  impos- 
sible for  him  to  keep  up  the  high  pressure  of 
the  life  he  led  did  he  not  clear  his  brains  and 
brace  his  nerves  by  strengthening  his  body  and 
constantly  enriching  his  blood.  So  it  was  that 
every  moment  to  be  spared  he  devoted  to  recrea- 
tion, the  sort  that  strengthens  the  body  and  clears 
the  mind  (clubs,  dumb  bells,  singlesticks,  tennis, 
riding  —  most  of  all  riding).  While  it  gave  him 
keen  pleasure,  he  discovered,  also,  the  reason  why 
it  was  absolutely  necessary.  This  building  up 
of  the  body  and  the  clearing  of  the  mind  create 
a  strange  condition  —  strange  to  those  who  have 
allowed  themselves  to  become  so  enfeebled  that 
they  have  never  experienced  it.  You  might  call  it 
exhilaration,  but  it  is  more  than  that.  It's  a  feel- 


THE  MAN  OF  ACTION  255 

ing  of  power  which  is  possessed  only  by  a  man 
who  keeps  up  his  physique  to  the  highest  stand- 
ard —  a  power  that  masters  one  and  fills  him 
with  determination.  He  was  eager  to  work,  or  to 
fight  as  necessary.  He  rejoiced  in  obstacles  to 
overcome.  He  could  accomplish  tenfold  more 
than  if  he  had  not  keyed  up  his  system  to  his 
highest  point." 

How  this  physical  vigor  constantly  displayed 
it.elf  in  his  daily  life  was  remarked  by  many 
observers  close  to  him.  A  notable  instance  of 
his  apparent  tirelessness  was  described  by  Mr. 
George  Gary  Eggleston,  who  called  on  him  at  the 
White  House  in  the  spring  of  1902. 

"My  personal  visit  was  made  on  the  evening  of 
the  day  on  which  he  returned  from  his  comet- 
like  trip  in  the  Carolinas,"  says  Mr.  Eggleston  in 
the  New  York  Herald.  "He  had  got  back  to 
Washington  in  the  morning  after  five  days  of 
soul-wearying  travel,  still  more  wearying  speech- 
making  and  function-holding,  and  the  ceaseless 
strain  of  social  and  every  other  sort  of  exciting 
experience.  Almost  any  other  man  would  have 
gone  to  bed  and  put  business  aside  for  one  day 
at  least.  Mr.  Roosevelt  had  gone  to  his  desk, 
instead,  to  clear  off  the  work  accumulation  of 
nearly  a  week.  He  had  then  held  an  important 
Cabinet  meeting,  received  many  official  and 
other  callers  who  had  vexing  business  matters  to 
discuss,  made  several  appointments  to  office,  and 
attended  to  a  multitude  of  other  trying  affairs. 
Yet,  when  I  desired  to  withdraw  on  the  ground 
that  he  must  be  well-nigh  exhausted,  he  cheerily 
answered : 


256        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

"  '  Oh,  no,  I'm  not  at  all  tired.  In  fact,  I  never 
make  much  of  weariness.  Light  a  cigar,  I  want  to 
talk  with  you  about  a  historical  point  which  you 
criticized  some  years  ago  in  one  of  my  books.' 

"  Fortunately  I  was  sitting  at  the  time  in  a  well- 
armed  easy-chair,"  Mr.  Eggleston  continues, 
"  otherwise  I  think  I  might  have  fallen.  Think 
of  this  busy  man,  ceaselessly  engaged  with  stren- 
uous public  affairs,  still  remembering  that  poor 
little  criticism  of  mine,  years  after  it  was  writ- 
ten !  The  criticism  concerned  a  minute  detail 
of  very  small  consequence  in  any  case,  yet  so 
earnest  and  sincere  is  this  man,  and  so  '  stren- 
uous '  in  all  that  he  does,  that  he  remembered  the 
point  perfectly,  and  mentioned  it  only  because  he 
was  interested  to  explain  to  me  how  he  had  been 
led  into  the  insignificant  little  error.  It  seemed 
to  me  that  in  this  incident  more  than  one  ad- 
mirable quality  of  the  President's  mind  and 
character  were  revealed  in  a  very  enlightening 
way." 

An  earlier  record  of  the  way  he  employed  his 
time  was  made  by  a  man  who  accompanied  him 
on  his  tour  of  the  country,  as  a  candidate  for 
the  Vice-Presidency  in  1900.  It  is  the  schedule 
of  a  day's  occupation,  and  for  variety  of  inter- 
est it  would  be  difficult  to  find  it  equaled  in  the 
lives  of  any  other  two  men.  Here  it  is: 

7  A.  M. —  Breakfast. 
7:30  A.  M. —  A  speech. 

8  A.  M. —  Reading  a  historical  work. 

9  A.  M. —  A  speech. 

10  A.  M. —  Dictating  letters. 

11  A.M. —  Discussing  Montana  mines. 

\ 


THE  MAN  OF  ACTION  257 

II 130  A.  M. —  A  speech. 

12  M. —  Reading  an  ornithological  work. 

12:30  P.  M. —  A  speech. 

i  P.  M. —  Lunch. 

1 130  P.  M. —  A  speech. 

2 130  P.  M. —  Reading  Sir  Walter  Scott. 

3  P.  M. —  Answering  telegrams. 

3  45  P.  M.—  A  speech. 

4  P.  M. —  Meeting  the  press. 
4:30  P.  M.— Reading. 

5  P.  M. —  A  speech. 

6  P.  M. —  Reading. 

7  P.  M. —  Supper. 

8  to  10  P.  M. —  Speaking. 

11  P.M. —  Reading  alone  in  his  car. 

12  P.  M. —  To  bed. 

He  was  practicing  then  what  he  always 
preached.  One  version  of  his  gospel  of  life  haa 
been  given  by  Major  W.  H.  H.  Llewellyn,  of 
Las  Cruces,  New  Mexico,  who  commanded  a 
company  in  the  regiment  of  Rough  Riders.  The 
Major  said  one  day  after  his  old  commander  had 
become  President: 

"  The  Colonel  (he  will  always  be  Colonel  to 
the  Rough  Riders)  was  talking  the  other  day  with 
one  of  his  old  boys  who  had  come  out  into  our 
country  to  do  business,  and  he  said  to  him 

"  '  Get  action ;  do  things ;  be  sane ;  don't  fritter 
away  your  time ;  create,  act,  take  a  place  wher- 
ever you  are  and  be  somebody ;  get  action.' 

"  That's  the  Colonel  all  over,"  continued  the 
Major.  "  It's  the  story  of  his  own  life.  It's 
the  advice  he  gave  us  all  when  we  parted  with 
him  at  Montauk  Point.  Do  you  remember  that 


258        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

evening  in  the  camp  when  the  regiment  stood 
in  front  of  him,  and  the  parting  came?  I  can 
hear  him  say  now  as  he  did  then: 

"  '  Remember  when  you  go  out  into  the  world 
to-morrow,  for  nine  days  you  will  be  regarded 
as  heroes,  and  then  you  will  have  to  take  your 
places  as  ordinary  citizens.  You  will  be  judged 
then  for  what  you  are,  what  you  do  as  men,  not 
as  to  what  you  have  been.  Don't  get  gay.' " 

The  Major  paused  a  moment,  and  then  con- 
cluded, reflectively :  "  I've  seen  young  fellows 
in  our  clubs  sit  three  hours  discussing  the  char- 
acter of  the  work  in  a  polo  pony's  hoof.  That 
kind  of  action  the  Colonel  hates." 

Mr.  Roosevelt  was  happy  where  things  were 
happening.  He  remarked  once  that  he  liked  to 
be  where  something  was  going  on,  and  that  he 
generally  managed  to  make  something  happen 
where  he  was.  Danger  arouses  in  him  a  keen 
sense  of  enjoyment,  as  was  illustrated  in  a  small 
way  in  Victor,  Colorado,  during  the  campaign  of 
1900.  A  mob  tried  to  prevent  him  from  speak- 
ing there.  One  man  hit  him  in  the  breast  with 
a  piece  of  scantling  six  feet  long  from  which 
an  insulting  banner  had  been  torn.  Another 
man  tried  to  strike  him  in  the  face,  but  was 
prevented  by  a  miner.  The  same  observer  who 
recorded  the  routine  of  a  day's  work  on  the  tour 
said  afterward : 

"  When  the  storm  of  the  mob  swept  up  to  him 
I  stood  on  the  lower  step  of  the  Pullman  sleeper 
with  George  W.  Ogden.  Ogden  exclaimed : 

"  '  See  the  Colonel's  face ! ' ' 

"  '  I  looked.     Rocks  were  flying  over  him  and 


THE  MAN  OF  ACTION  259 

the  scantling  waved  savagely.  And  he  ?  He  was 
smiling  and  his  eyes  were  dancing;  and  he  was 
coming  ahead  to  safety  as  composedly  as  though 
he  were  approaching  the  entrance  to  his  own 
home  among  friends. 

When  it  was  all  over  he  exclaimed  enthusias- 
tically : 

' '  This  is  magnificent.  Why,  it's  the  best  fun 
I've  had  since  I  started.  I  wouldn't  have  missed 
it  for  anything.' " 

His  interest  in  athletics  never  diminished.  In 
his  youth  he  played  football,  and  when  he  re- 
ceived the  team  of  the  Carlisle  Indian  School  at 
the  White  House  on  the  morning  after  the 
Thanksgiving  Day  game  in  1902,  he  proved  that 
his  interest  in  the  sport  still  survived.  He  had 
read  the  account  of  the  game  in  the  morning 
papers  and  was  full  of  it  all  day,  talking  foot- 
ball at  the  Cabinet  meeting  and  with  nearly  every 
one  he  saw.  When  Mr.  W.  G.  Thompson,  who 
had  charge  of  the  Indians,  introduced  them  to 
him,  he  knew  all  about  them.  Johnson,  the  cap- 
tain, was  presented  first. 

"  Delighted,"  exclaimed  the  President,  grasp- 
ing his  hand.  "  You  play  quarterback.  The 
mass  play  of  your  team  was  splendid.  I  am  de- 
lighted." 

Parker  came  next  and  was  greeted  in  a  similar 
way,  according  to  the  account  of  the  Washington 
correspondents. 

"  Your  play  was  brilliant.  You  made  three 
touchdowns,  didn't  you?  How  in  the  world  did 
you  do  it?" 

And  so  it  went  along  the  line.     The  President 


260        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

talked  football  with  every  man  in  the  party. 
Sometimes  he  would  call  back  one  of  them  to 
discuss  a  point  in  the  game.  Nearly  every  man 
was  asked  to  what  tribe  he  belonged.  One  said 
he  was  a  Kaw. 

"  Yes,  Congressman  Curtis  belongs  to  that 
tribe,"  the  President  remarked.  "  I'm  glad  to 
meet  a  fellow-tribesman  of  his." 

"  You're  a  football  player,  that's  self-evident," 
he  remarked  as  he  looked  at  one  of  the  boys  who 
had  been  bruised  in  the  game.  To  another  bat- 
tered player  he  said,  "  I  see  without  asking  that 
you  played  yesterday,  and  it  didn't  improve  your 
beauty." 

The  stolid  Indian  smiled  cheerfully  at  this 
and  passed  on. 

Mr.  Roosevelt  made  every  one  of  them  feel 
at  his  ease.  He  knew  the  big  chiefs  in  some  of 
the  tribes  represented,  and  when  he  mentioned 
their  names  the  players  addressed  were  greatly 
pleased.  Most  of  the  Indians  had  adopted  the 
names  of  white  men,  and  the  President  asked 
these  what  they  were  called  by  their  own  people. 

"  No  need  to  ask  you,  Mr.  Tomahawk,"  said 
he,  beaming  on  the  right  guard.  "  I  know  what 
yours  means." 

There  was  one  player  whose  Indian  name  was 
Bear.  When  the  word  was  spoken  the  Presi- 
dent cried : 

"  Delighted,"  and  grasped  the  boy's  hand 
warmly.  "  I'm  well  acquainted  with  the  bear 
family.  I  met  some  of  them  in  Mississippi,  and 
I  know  Baer  of  the  Reading  Coal  Company.  He 
is  harder  to  catch  than  any  of  them.  You  are 


THE  MAN  OF  ACTION  261 

built  like  a  football  player.  I'm  glad  you  are 
not  one  of  the  bears  I  chased  in  Mississippi. 
They  would  make  good  football  players,  too." 

At  the  end  of  the  line  was  the  only  player  who 
was  not  an  Indian.  He  was  Exendine,  a  full- 
blooded  Eskimo.  When  Mr.  Thompson  pre- 
sented him,  the  President  reached  out  and 
crushed  the  youth's  chubby  hand  in  his  own  and 
said: 

"  Delighted  to  meet  you.  I  congratulate  you 
on  coming  to  this  country  to  get  an  education. 
So  you  are  an  Eskimo  ?  I  don't  suppose  the  coal 
famine  worries  you  a  bit." 

He  was  unfeignedly  interested  in  these  young 
men,  not  only  because  they  were  Indians,  but 
because  they  were  developing  vigorous  bodies. 
Virility  always  appealed  to  him.  It  certainly  is 
a  novel  doctrine  that  mere  animal  vigor  is  £ 
good  thing  in  itself,  as  well  as  for  the  poten- 
tialities that  lie  in  it.  If  it  were  preached  more 
there  would  be  fewer  dyspeptics  and  fewer  hypo- 
chondriacs and  fewer  men  with  brains  awry  be- 
cause they  receive  too  little  nourishment  from 
the  body. 

Mr.  Roosevelt's  own  virility  kept  his  nerves 
steady,  so  that  he  did  not  succumb  to  physical 
suffering,  as  appeared  at  the  time  of  the  accident 
in  Pittsfield,  Massachusetts,  on  September  2, 
1902,  when  the  carriage  in  which  he  was  riding 
was  demolished  by  an  electric  car,  its  occupants 
thrown  out,  and  Craig,  the  special  Secret  Service 
officer  traveling  with  him,  killed.  Dr.  Lung,  who 
reached  the  President  first,  found  him  on  his 
knees,  raising  himself  uncertainly  from  the  grass, 


262        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

thirty  feet  from  the  smashed  carriage.  The  doc- 
tor threw  his  arms  about  him  and  lifted  him  to 
his  feet. 

"  Where  do  you  feel  pain  ?  "  the  doctor  asked, 
at  the  same  time  patting  the  President's  sides 
gently,  searching  for  broken  ribs. 

The  President  broke  away  from  him  roughly. 

"  I'm  all  right,"  he  said.  "  Some  of  the  others 
are  badly  hurt ;  look  after  them." 

The  President's  face  was  badly  bruised  in  this 
accident,  and  the  bone  of  one  of  his  legs  so 
seriously  injured  that  two  operations  had  to  be 
performed  on  it  later  —  one  in  Indianapolis  and 
one  in  Washington  —  and  he  had  to  cut  short  a 
Western  trip  on  account  of  it.  But  he  did  not 
think  of  himself.  His  physicians  had  to  do  that 
for  him. 

On  one  occasion,  not  long  after  he  had  built 
his  house  on  Sagamore  Hill,  Oyster  Bay,  he  gave 
a  hunt  breakfast  to  the  Meadowbrook  Hunt 
Club,  and  after  it  was  over  set  out  with  his  fel- 
low-huntsmen for  a  ten-mile  "  drag." 

Less  than  an  hour  later  a  friend  who  was  in- 
specting the  new  stables  saw  Mr.  Roosevelt  ride 
up.  He  noticed  that  his  host  had  liberal  quan- 
tities of  court-plaster  on  his  face,  that  he  showed 
some  blood,  that  he  had  his  right  hand  tucked 
between  the  two  buttons  of  his  waistcoat,  and 
that  when  he  dismounted  he  did  so  cautiously. 

The  friend  began  to  think  that  he  had  had  a  bad 
fall,  but  Mr.  Roosevelt  was  so  cool  and  played  so 
unconcernedly  with  one  of  his  children  that  was 
being  wheeled  by  the  nurse  near  the  stables  that 
the  man  decided  that  he  was  only  scratched. 


THE  MAN  OF  ACTION  263 

And  that  was  what  he  himself  said  when  asked 
about  the  matter. 

"  Only  a  scratch  —  just  a  little  scratch." 

In  a  few  minutes  Mr.  Roosevelt  went  into  the 
house  and  his  guest  dismissed  the  incident  from 
his  mind.  A  quarter  of  an  hour  later  the  man 
was  standing  in  front  of  the  house  where  a  horse, 
covered  with  lather,  tore  up  the  driveway.  Its 
rider,  a  well-known  Long  Island  doctor,  pulled  up 
at  the  steps  and  inquired : 

"How's  Mr.  Roosevelt?  Has  he  come 
home  ?  " 

"  What's  the  matter,  Doctor  ?  "  the  guest  asked. 
"  Yes,  he  is  home,  but  as  far  as  I  can  see  he  has 
only  got  about  a  yard  of  court-plaster  on  his  face. 
He  can't  be  hurt  very  much,  for  he  has  been 
playing  with  his  baby  since  he  came  back." 

The  doctor  looked  astonished,  and  exclaimed 
as  he  hurried  into  the  house : 

"  Why,  man,  he  broke  his  arm  when  his  horse 
went  down !  " 

A  few  days  later  the  same  friend  met  Mr. 
Roosevelt  with  his  arm  in  a  sling  on  Fifth  Ave- 
nue in  New  York. 

"  Sorry  you  didn't  tell  me  the  other  day  that 
your  arm  was  broken,"  he  said.  "  Perhaps  I 
could  have  helped  you." 

"  Pooh !  Pooh !  "  Mr.  Roosevelt  replied.  "  It 
was  merely  a  scratch,"  and  turned  the  conversa- 
tion. 

Mr.  Roosevelt  was  known  to  take  more  physi- 
cal exercise  than  any  other  public  man  in  Wash- 
ington. He  outwalked  his  friends  and  outrode 
them,  too.  One  of  his  favorite  amusements  was 


264         ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

riding,  and  he  liked  to  get  a  friend  to  go  with 
him.  He  sat  close  to  his  horse  in  the  Western 
style  and  made  fun  of  his  acquaintances  who 
adopted  the  English  fashion  of  riding.  When 
Prince  Henry  of  Prussia  visited  Washington, 
the  President  took  him  riding  through  the 
country  roads  about  the  capital  in  a  driving  rain- 
storm. Most  of  the  party  turned  back  when 
the  rain  became  heavy,  but  the  Prince  and  the 
President  kept  on,  each  seeming  to  enjoy  the 
battle  with  the  elements.  Indeed,  he  seemed  to 
delight  in  testing  the  willingness  of  his  friends 
to  expose  themselves  to  the  weather.  Not  long 
after  Mr.  Robert  Bacon,  his  classmate  in  Harv- 
ard, was  made  First  Assistant  Secretary  of 
State,  Mr.  Roosevelt  initiated  him  into  the 
strenuosities  of  life  in  Washington  under  his 
own  administration.  He  invited  Mr.  Gifford 
Pinchot,  of  the  Forestry  Bureau,  and  Mr.  Bacon 
to  take  a  walk  with  him  one  afternoon  at  the 
close  of  a  busy  and  tiring  day.  It  was  raining 
hard  and  he  advised  them  to  put  on  old  clothes. 
Instead  of  following  the  advice  they  arrived  at 
the  White  House  dressed  as  usual.  Mr.  Roose- 
velt met  them  in  a  badly  worn  suit  with  a  slouch 
hat  and  heavy  shoes. 

The  three  started  out  in  the  rain.  Their  walk 
took  them  to  the  open  country,  where  they  came 
to  a  considerable  body  of  water.  They  wished 
to  cross  to  the  other  side,  but  there  was  no 
bridge  within  a  mile.  The  President  told  Mr. 
Bacon  that  he  could  go  to  the  bridge  and  cross 
and  meet  them  on  the  other  side,  as  he  and  Mr. 
Pinchot  would  wade  over.  Mr.  Bacon  objected 


THE  MAN  OF  ACTION  265 

and  declared  that  if  the  others  waded  he  would 
too. 

"  Bully,"  shouted  the  President.  "  Come  on, 
then ! "  and  he  plunged  into  the  water,  that 
proved  to  be  so  much  deeper  than  he  anticipated 
that  he  had  to  swim  for  some  distance,  Bacon 
and  Pinchot  following  after. 

He  had  no  more  hesitation  than  a  healthy  boy 
in  doing  things  that  appealed  to  him.  This  made 
it  easy  for  him  when  hunting  to  take  game  into 
camp,  when  less  adventurous  hunters  would  have 
been  unwilling,  if  not  unable,  to  do  what  he  did. 
While  at  the  Keystone  Ranch  in  Colorado,  for 
instance,  on  a  hunting  trip,  he  and  his  guide 
held  at  bay  a  large  lion  in  a  crevice  on  the  pre- 
cipitous side  of  a  rock  ledge  which  extended  from 
the  point  of  the  crevice  sheer  down  fifty  feet. 
Mr.  Roosevelt  shot  at  the  lion,  and  the  beast  dis- 
appeared under  a  perpendicular  wall  of  rock.  A 
large  slab  of  stone  projected  over  the  rim  of  the 
ledge,  and  if  one  of  the  men  could  hang  head 
first  over  this  slab  he  could  see  the  lion  and  might 
be  able  to  shoot  it. 

"  The  question  which  confronted  us,"  said  the 
guide  in  telling  of  the  incident,  "  was  how  to 
hang  over  the  rock.  Finally  Colonel  Roosevelt 
looked  at  me  intently  and  said,  '  Goff,  we  must 
have  that  lion  if  he  is  there.  I'll  tell  you  what 
I'll  do.  I  will  take  my  gun  and  crawl  over  that 
rock.  You  hold  me  by  the  feet  and  let  me 
slide  down  far  enough  to  see  him.  If  I  can  see 
him  I  will  get  him.'  This  plan  was  carried  out, 
and  he  killed  the  lion,  hanging  head  downward, 
while  I  held  him  by  the  feet.'' 


266        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

But  of  all  the  pictures  of  Mr.  Roosevelt,  either 
verbal  or  photographic,  the  one  which  gives  the 
best  and  most  vivid  impression  of  the  vigorous 
human  animal  rejoicing  in  his  vitality  is  that  one 
which  shows  him  mounted  on  a  hunter  taking  a 
fence.  Horse  and  rider  are  instinct  with  life, 
and  while  you  look  at  them  they  seem  to  leap  out 
of  the  paper  and  dash  down  the  road  with  the 
drum-beat  of  the  hoofs  ringing  in  your  ears  as 
they  disappear  from  view. 

Mr.  John  Morley's  characterization  of  him, 
after  spending  a  day  or  so  at  the  White  House, 
puts  in  words  what  the  photograph  represents. 

"  I  have  seen  two  tremendous  works  of  na- 
ture," the  British  statesman  said ;  "  one  is  Niag- 
ara Falls,  and  the  other  is  the  President  of  the 
United  States." 

The  office  of  the  presidency  makes  severe  de- 
mands upon  the  strength  of  its  occupants.  Most 
of  them  have  had  little  time  or  energy  left  for 
anything  else.  There  are  few  things,  however,  in 
which  Theodore  Roosevelt  did  not  interest  him- 
self. He  might  well  use  for  his  motto  the 
famous  saying  of  Terence,  "  Homo  sum  — 
humani  nihil  a  me  alienum  puto  " —  I  am  a  man 
interested  in  all  that  concerns  my  fellow-men. 
It  is  necessary  to  review  his  extra-Presidential 
activities  for  only  a  few  months  to  discover  how 
far  his  sympathies  extended. 

In  the  summer  of  1905  he  traveled  from  his 
home  at  Oyster  Bay  to  Coney  Island,  on  New 
York  Bay,  for  the  sole  purpose  of  visiting  a 
hospital  for  the  treatment  of  children  of  the  poor 
suffering  from  tuberculosis  of  the  bones.  When 


THE  MAN  OF  ACTION  267 

he  saw  what  benefit  the  children  derived  from 
the  sea  air  he  made  an  appeal  to  the  public  for 
the  support  of  the  institution.  In  August,  1905, 
he  accepted  the  honorary  vice-presidency  of  the 
Public  Schools  Athletic  League,  organized  to 
secure  systematic  athletic  drill  for  the  boys.  In 
a  letter  addressed  to  General  George  W.  Win- 
gate,  the  president  of  the  League,  he  said  the  or- 
ganization "  is  performing  a  service  of  the  ut- 
most importance,  not  merely  from  the  standpoint 
of  the  physical,  but  also  from  the  standpoint  of 
the  ethical  needs  of  these  school-children."  He 
wrote  further :  "  I  am  also  particularly  pleased 
that  you  are  about  to  organize  a  woman's  auxil- 
iary branch,  for  the  girls  need  exercise  quite 
as  much  as  the  boys." 

From  athletics  in  the  schools  in  August  his  at- 
tention was  transferred  in  the  autumn  to  foot- 
ball in  the  colleges.  In  October  he  invited  rep- 
resentatives of  the  athletic  interests  of  Harvard, 
Princeton,  and  Yale  Universities  to  meet  him  at 
the  White  House  to  consider  reforming  the 
abuses  in  the  game,  and  in  November  he  had  Dr. 
J.  W.  White  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania 
as  his  guest  when  he  discussed  the  same  subject. 
Doctor  White  reported,  after  his  conference,  that 
the  President  had  clear  and  positive  views  on  the 
kind  of  reforms  needed.  They  included  the 
abolition  of  brutality  and  foul  play,  with  such 
power  given  to  the  umpire  as  would  permit  him 
to  order  from  the  field  not  only  individual 
players,  but  whole  teams  when  detected  in  bru- 
tality or  in  violation  of  the  rules  of  fairness; 
and  he  urged  that  the  responsible  heads  of  col- 


268        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

leges  whose  teams  play  together  should  have  a 
"  gentleman's  agreement  "  to  secure  the  enforce- 
ment of  the  spirit  as  well  as  the  letter  of  the 
rules  intended  to  make  an  honorable  defeat  more 
glorious  than  an  unfairly  won  victory. 

The  fixed  purpose  of  his  boyhood  and  young 
manhood  had  never  been  yielded.  "  Theodore 
Roosevelt  lived  the  kind  of  life  he  wanted  —  the 
life  he  deliberately,  passionately  wanted,  and  lived 
it  despite  the  urging  of  those  who  loved  him 
and  studied  him  and  were  anxious  lest  he  wear 
out  the  physical  mechanism  that  was  day  after 
day  spurred  to  intense  action  by  an  ever-active 
brain.  Such,"  says  H.  C.  McMillen,  writing  for 
the  Evening  Post,  New  York,  "  is  the  sorrow- 
ful conclusion  of  William  Muldoon,  wrestler, 
boxer,  trainer,  and  director  of  a  hygienic  insti- 
tute where  Cabinet  and  other  Government  of- 
ficials and  big  business  men  have  been  restored  to 
health  after  hard  work  had  worn  them  down. 
Mr.  Muldoon  boxed  and  wrestled  and  fenced  with 
Colonel  Roosevelt,  and  they  were  warm  personal 
friends  for  the  years  of  a  generation."  Mr.  Mc- 
Millen's  interview  with  Mr.  Muldoon  continues: 
"It  was  Colonel  Roosevelt's  untiring  brain  that 
drove  his  body  —  drove  it  through  long  hours 
of  official  duties,  drove  it  through  days  and 
weeks  and  months  of  campaigning,  speechmak- 
ing,  conferences,  and  handshaking,  drove  it 
through  days  of  travel  and  nights  in  a  Pullman 
berth,  and  drove  it  on  long  hikes  in  Africa,  and 
on  grilling  tours  through  the  Brazil  jungle  and 
down  cataracts  of  unknown  rivers. 

"  The  Colonel  went  upon  that  last  trip  to  South 


THE  MAN  OF  ACTION  269 

America  against  the  advice  of  his  friends.  It 
was  there  he  really  lost  his  health.  A  man's 
body  is  simply  the  house  which  contains  his  spirit, 
and  his  spirit,  by  which  I  mean  his  mind,  his  in- 
tellect, must  have  consideration  for  the  house 
that  shelters  it.  If  you  have  a  comfortable, 
well-made  house,  with  '  foundations  deep-walled 
and  warm/  you  will  not  abuse  it,  be  indifferent 
to  the  vicissitudes  of  weather  and  time. 

"  The  Colonel's  spirit  never  spared  the  house 
that  contained  it.  That  is  why  I  am  sorry  that 
he  has  gone  as  he  did  go.  I  loved  the  Colonel 
and  I  love  America,  and  I  know  that  Theodore 
Roosevelt  was  entitled  to  twenty  years'  more  of 
life  —  twenty  years  in  which  the  country  would 
need  him  as  it  has  not  needed  him  before,  and 
twenty  years  in  which  he  could  serve  America 
as  he  never  served  her.  If  he  had  died  at 
eighty  years,  instead  of  at  sixty,  I  would  accept 
that  as  fulfillment  of  the  inevitable,  the  just  rule 
of  life.  But  he  died  twenty  years  too  young,  be- 
fore his  work  was  finished,  and  he  died  because 
he  simply  had  to  live  at  the  fullest,  while  he  lived. 
His  spirit  was  tireless,  unflinching,  and  it  wore 
out  the  house  it  inhabited. 

"  After  he  left  the  White  House,  Colonel 
Roosevelt  did  little  boxing,  and  wrestling.  He 
continued  tennis,  but  since  March,  1909,  his  con- 
tests in  sports  were  by  no  means  as  active  as 
when  he  was  President.  On  his  Oyster  Bay 
estate  he  played  tennis  with  visitors,  chopped 
trees,  and  cut  wood  in  scientifically  re-foresting 
his  lands,  and  he  rowed  about  the  bay  a  great 
deal.  But  the  bouts  on  the  mat,  and  the  boxing 


270        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

and  single-stick  work  in  which  he  delighted  while 
in  the  White  House  were  pretty  well  given  up. 

"  He  liked  to  box  with  '  Mike '  Donovan, 
trainer  at  the  New  York  Athletic  Club,  as  well  as 
with  myself.  Donovan  died  a  short  time  ago. 
The  Colonel's  eyesight  was  not  of  the  best.  He 
was  near-sighted,  and  he  wanted  to  see  his  op- 
ponent, wanted  to  see  his  eyes  —  wanted  to  catch 
that  brightening  that  anticipates  the  delivery  of  a 
blow.  It  is  almost  impossible  for  some  boxers 
so  to  control  their  eye  expression  that  they  will 
not  betray  their  intention  to  strike,  or  by  a  slight 
intensification  of  the  glance,  or  a  quick  glance  to 
that  part  of  an  opponent's  body  where  the  next 
hit  is  to  be  landed,  betray  the  blow  they  intended 
to  deliver.  Colonel  Roosevelt  wanted  to  see  his 
opponent's  face,  and  he  liked  to  '  mix  in '  when 
boxing. 

"  Hard  and  heavy  give  and  take  was  the  Col- 
onel's method,  and  his  opponents,  if  they  were 
wise,  stood  off,  used  their  heads  instead  of  their 
hands,  were  quick  on  their  feet,  and  forced  the 
Colonel  to  adapt  his  plan  of  fighting  to  theirs. 
It  was  all  the  same  to  the  Colonel.  His  objective 
was  the  contest,  not  the  result.  He  wanted  the 
straining  of  muscle  and  sinew,  the  urge  of  the 
fighting,  the  joy  of  the  landed  blow,  and  he  en- 
joyed not  less  the  sting  of  the  gloved  fist  against 
his  skin  and  flesh. 

"  General  Leonard  Wood,  Gifford  Pinchot, 
James  A.  Garfield,  Ambassador  Jusserand,  and 
several  fine  strapping  young  army  and  navy  of- 
ficers were  in  and  about  the  White  House  when 
Roosevelt  was  President,  and  when  official  duties 


THE  MAN  OF  ACTION  271 

were  finished  for  the  day,  the  joys  and  exhilara- 
tions of  Olympia  were  supreme.  General  Wood 
and  the  President,  in  the  days  when  the  former 
was  an  army  surgeon  with  the  rank  of  captain 
and  when  Theodore  Roosevelt  was  Assistant 
Secretary  of  the  Navy,  used  to  take  long  walks, 
or  walk  off  to  the  chosen  spot  and  there  kick  a 
football  around  for  the  physical  rejuvenation 
necessary  after  the  debilitating  Washington  of- 
ficial life.  In  the  White  House  they  strove 
against  each  other  with  single-sticks,  and  if  it 
ever  had  been  the  fortune  of  Leonard  Wood 
to  cross  swords  in  mortal  combat  with  an  an- 
tagonist, that  training  of  hand  and  eye  and  wrist 
and  leg  that  he  got  fencing  with  the  President 
would  surely  have  won  him  victory,  I  do  be- 
lieve. 

"  Those  contests  and  sports  in  the  White 
House,  on  the  tennis  courts,  and  in  beautiful 
Rock  Creek  Park  and  the  surrounding  Wash- 
ington, kept  Theodore  Roosevelt  strong  and 
active  and  alert.  He  rested  at  night,  and  his 
body  kept  up  with  the  strain  his  spirit  imposed 
upon  it. 

"  It  was  the  trials  of  his  wanderings  in  Africa 
and  South  America,  and  the  strain  of  his  1912 
campaign  following  his  acceptance  of  the  Pro- 
gressive nomination  for  the  Presidency,  his  ef- 
forts in  1914,  when  he  toured  New  York  State 
in  a  motor  car  in  behalf  of  the  Progressive  nomi- 
nee for  Governor,  and  his  mighty  battling  to 
arouse  America  to  war  with  Germany  that  tested 
his  physical  mechanism  beyond  its  limit.  He 
was  not  impersonal  and  objective;  he  was  per- 


272        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

sonal  and  intense.  For  so  many  months  he  felt 
that  the  country,  his  country,  was  not  in  the  right 
movement,  not  in  the  right  mood,  and  his  impo- 
tence was  more  exhausting  than  the  severest 
strain  of  official  duties. 

"  Some  of  us  would  say,  '  Colonel,  why  do  you 
worry?  The  country  would  not  see  eye  and  eye 
with  you  in  1912,  and  the  delegates  of  your  party 
would  not  accept  your  judgment  in  1916.  You 
have  done  all  you  could.  It  is  no  longer  up  to 
you.  Be  content.'  But  the  Colonel  lived  his  no- 
tions of  right  and  justice  and  wisdom,  and  when 
they  were  outraged  he  was  outraged  spiritually, 
and  that  reacted  upon  him  physically.  In  hours 
of  unhappiness  and  depression  for  his  country 
his  spirit  drove  his  body,  just  as  in  his  joys  of 
contests. 

"  Rest  and  repose  are  the  great  upbuilders,  the 
great  medicines,  of  the  mind,  the  nervous  sys- 
tem, and  the  physical  body.  Theodore  Roose- 
velt lived  the  life  he  wanted,  but  he  did  not  live 
always  as  his  truest  friends  wanted.  His  family 
desired,  and  his  friends  in  sports  and  physical 
contests  desired,  that  he  give  his  body  and  his 
nerves  more  repose.  That  was  always  my  urging 
to  him.  Not  that  sports  and  contests  wore  him 
down  —  they  counteracted  finely  the  effects  of 
too  long  hours  at  his  desk,,  or  in  important  con- 
ferences. But  the  nervous  system  and  flesh  and 
blood  rebuild  and  repair  themselves  while  the 
individual  rests,  and  the  Colonel's  spirit  would 
not  allow  him  to  rest. 

"  This  need  for  rest,  for  relaxation,  the  com- 
plete relaxation  of  utter  '  letting  down,'  an  en- 


THE  MAN  OF  ACTION  273 

tire  separation  at  intervals  from  duties  and 
friends  and  interests,  is  what  I  want  to  empha- 
size. That  need  for  our  busy,  conscientious 
American  men,  is  imperative.  That  is  why, 
though  I  hesitate  at  this  time  to  tell  of  Colonel 
Roosevelt's  sports  and  contests,  I  feel  that  Amer- 
ican men  of  great  spirit  or  great  intellect,  with 
minds  like  Theodore  Roosevelt's,  that  go  out  to 
every  imaginable  subject,  men  who  are  so  neces- 
sary to  guide  their  countrymen,  should  know  that 
the  lesson  that  lies  in  his  death  at  the  early  age  of 
sixty  years  is  that  his  spirit  drove  his  body  too 
hard. 

"  The  hours  that  Colonel  Roosevelt  spent  on 
horseback  were  as  happy  as  any  in  his  life.  He 
was  the  man  who  appreciated  the  '  feel '  of  a  fine 
nag  between  his  knees.  General  Bell,  then  Chief 
of  Staff,  and  Henry  L.  Stimson,  Secretary  of 
War,  were  among  his  riding  companions.  A 
steep  cliff  or  a  ford  that  promised  an  upset  and  a 
plunge  in  icy  waters  never  deterred  those  riders. 
I  guess  that  some  easy-going  army  men  did 
not  like  the  President's  order  that  every  army 
officer  must  ride  ninety  miles  in  three  days,  or 
walk  thirty,  as  a  once-a-year  official  physical  test, 
simply  to  demonstrate  the  '  ready  for  active  serv- 
ice '  quality.  But  that  order  was  prompted  by 
the  President's  conviction  that  a  certain  minimum 
of  physical  capacity  was  something  that  the 
country  had  a  right  to  demand  of  its  army  of- 
ficers, and  that  the  existence  of  that  capacity 
could  best  be  shown  by  the  actual  riding  or  walk- 
ing test." 

"  Theodore  Roosevelt  was  the  one  American 


274        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

President  distinctly  an  athlete,"  continues  Mr. 
McMillen.  "  Traditions  of  George  Washington 
represent  him  as  a  man  of  great  personal  strength, 
and  that  he  was  a  huntsman  used  to  the  rigors 
of  outdoor  life  is  dwelt  upon  by  his  biographers. 
The  legend  of  his  throwing  a  dollar  across  the 
Potomac  has  served  not  only  to  illustrate  the 
prowess  of  his  good  right  arm,  but  has  enabled 
a  million  of  his  fellow  countrymen  to  crack  a 
joke  by  remarking  that  '  Of  course  a  dollar  went 
farther  in  those  days.' 

"  Grover  Cleveland  was  a  hunter  and  fisher- 
man, but  he  shot  over  moorland  and  reedy  shore 
with  a  shotgun,  while  Colonel  Roosevelt  hunted 
big  game  with  a  rifle. 

"  The  fact  that  Colonel  Roosevelt  while  box- 
ing with  a  young  artillery  officer  had  one  of  his 
eye-balls  so  seriously  injured  that  he  never  re- 
covered the  sight  in  that  eye,  did  not  become 
known  until  years  after  his  service  in  the  White 
House  had  closed,  and  the  army  officer  was  serv- 
ing in  France.  It  was  just  like  the  good  sport 
Roosevelt  to  keep  the  mishap  and  its  conse- 
quences a  secret  until  a  complication  which  neces- 
sitated his  going  to  Roosevelt  Hospital  for  treat- 
ment helped  to  make  public  the  fact  of  that 
chance  blow  of  several  years  before. 

"  Another  story  that  leaked  out  years  after 
the  Olympian  contests  in  the  White  House  has 
it  that  General  Wood  suffered  a  broadsword 
crack  over  the  head,  administered  by  his  friend 
and  adversary,  Theodore  Roosevelt,  and  that  a 
fracture  resulted  that  necessitated  trepanning. 

"  According  to  Muldoon,  the  Roosevelt  sons 


THE  MAN  OF  ACTION  275 

are  physically  what  their  father  was  at  their  age, 
rather  slighter  than  the  average  man,  but  with 
great  mental  and  nervous  energy.  In  the  days 
of  his  earlier  manhood,  Theodore  Roosevelt 
wanted  to  fill  out  his  slight  frame,  to  put  on 
flesh,  but  there  came  a  time  when  he  felt  that 
he  weighed  too  much,  and  he  exercised  strenu- 
ously in  order  to  cut  down  his  weight." 

There  was  enough  of  the  romantic  and  the 
mysterious  about  the  Japanese  method  of  wres- 
tling, jiu-jitsu,  to  fascinate  Colonel  Roosevelt,  and 
a  Japanese  teacher  of  the  science  gave  lessons  to 
the  President  in  the  White  House.  Here  is  an 
extract  from  the  diary  of  John  Hay,  Secretary 
of  State,  indicating  that  anecdotes  from  Olympia 
were  carried  to  the  cabinet  councils: 

"  April  26. —  At  the  Cabinet  meeting  this 
morning  the  President  talked  of  his  Japanese 
wrestler,  who  is  giving  him  lessons  in  jiu-jitsu. 
He  says  the  muscles  of  his  throat  are  so  pow- 
erfully developed  by  training  that  it  is  impos- 
sible for  any  ordinary  man  to  strangle  him. 
If  the  President  succeeds  once  in  a  while 
in  getting  the  better  of  him  he  says,  'Good! 
Lovely ! ' " 

"  One  of  the  army  officers  who  put  on  the 
gloves  with  the  President  was  Lieutenant  For- 
tescue,  a  distant  relative  of  the  Roosevelt  family. 
One  morning  the  young  lieutenant  was  insistent 
in  badgering  the  Colonel  for  a  bout.  The  lat- 
ter at  first  refused,  but  finally  agreed  to  go  four 
rounds.  According  to  Joseph  Grant,  Detective 
Sergeant  of  the  Washington  Police  Department, 
detailed  to  the  White  House  to  "guard"  the 


276        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

President,  it  was  just  about  the  fastest  bout  he 
ever  saw. 

"  The  Colonel  began  to  knock  Lieutenant  For- 
tescue  right  and  left  in  the  second  round,"  said 
the  detective.  "  His  right  and  left  got  to  the 
army  officer's  jaw  time  after  time,  and  the  bout 
was  stopped  in  the  third  round  to  prevent  the 
army  man  from  getting  a  knockout.  Then  the 
Colonel  turned  to  me  and  said :  '  I  think  I  can 
do  the  same  to  you :  Put  on  the  gloves.' 

"  I  drew  them  on  reluctantly,  and  I  put  up  the 
fight  of  my  life.  The  best  I  could  do  was  to  pre- 
vent a  decision  and  get  a  draw." 

Brief  reference  was  made  in  Chapter  II  of  this 
book  to  the  fact  that  work  was  the  ideal  and  the 
impelling  motive  of  Mr.  Roosevelt's  life.  He 
was  always  a  worker.  He  never  had  an  idle 
moment.  Even  during  the  periods  of  his  life  at 
Sagamore  Hill  no  part  of  his  time  was  unoccu- 
pied. The  morning  hours  were  given  to  exer- 
cise, pulling  at  the  oar  of  a  boat,  laying  the  ax  to 
a  tree  with  vigorous  blows,  or  riding  horseback 
through  the  familiar  paths  around  Oyster  Bay. 
Then  would  come  a  reading  period,  for  books 
which  would  give  him  information  rather  than 
for  newspapers.  He  gave  little  time  to  news- 
papers. Everything  he  did  was  done  thoroughly, 
and  with  his  whole  heart.  So  important  a  char- 
acteristic of  Mr.  Roosevelt's  life  was  this  passion 
for  work  and  accomplishment  that  a  clear  un- 
derstanding of  it  is  helpful  in  explaining  the  great 
success  of  his  career.  Many  of  the  tributes  paid 
to  his  memory  have  emphasized  this  as  one  of  his 
greatest  glories,  and  one  of  the  most  profitable 


THE  MAN  OF  ACTION  277 

qualities  for  his  fellow  citizens  to  emulate.  It 
is  worth  while  to  quote  from  two  of  these 
tributes  : 

Mr.  Thomas  Bragg,  writing  for  the  Evening 
Mail,  New  York,  describes  him  as  a  "  doer  with 
all  his  might "  and  continues : 

"  There  was  no  half-way  business  with  Roose- 
velt, no  half-heartedness;  whatever  he  undertook 
he  went  into  it  with  his  whole  heart  and  soul, 
with  every  ounce  of  his  magnificent  energy  and 
unconquerable  earnestness. 

"  It  was  said  of  a  certain  tempestuous  person- 
age of  the  last  century  that  had  fate  made  him 
a  chimney  sweep  he  would  have  been  prepared  to 
sweep  out  Vesuvius ! 

"  It  was  with  the  same  virile  and  irresistible 
spirit  that  Roosevelt  went  about  the  performance 
of  the  tasks  that  destiny  called  upon  him  to 
perform. 

"  The  old  adage  has  it  that  it  is  better  to 
'  wear  out  than  to  rust  out,'  but  there  was  never 
any  need  of  sounding  this  in  the  ears  of  Theo- 
dore Roosevelt.  Never  was  there,  from  the  time 
he  could  walk  until  he  laid  himself  down  for  his 
last  sleep,  a  moment  when  there  was  any  danger 
of  this  man's  dying  from  the  rust  of  disuse. 

"  While  he  lived  he  was  thoroughly,  grandly 
alive  —  alive  and  busy  with  the  work  that  the 
great  Taskmaster  had  given  him  to  do. 

"  In  his  life  there  were  no  idle  hours,  no  lost 
or  wasted  days,  no  squandered  opportunities  for 
useful  activity. 

"  Day  by  day,  as  the  days  came  along,  his  life 
was  packed  full  of  work  —  hard  work,  honest 


278        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

work,  work  into  which  he  put  the  very  best  that 
there  was  in  him. 

"  The  energy  of  the  man  was  phenomenal,  and 
quite  as  wonderful  was  the  zest  with  which  he 
performed  his  labors.  It  was  a  joy  for  Theo- 
dore Roosevelt  to  be  busy.  As  the  powerful 
swimmer  welcomes  the  great  waves,  so  Roose- 
velt welcomed  the  opportunities  for  work.  He 
rejoiced  in  them,  like  the  '  strong  man  prepared 
to  enter  into  the  race.' " 

The  editor  of  The  Globe,  New  York,  noticing 
that  in  the  pulpits  of  the  country,  chief  emphasis 
was  placed  on  Mr.  Roosevelt's  service  to  this 
country  as  preacher — as  promulgator  and  cham- 
pion of  moral  ideals,  declared  that  "  it  was  as  a 
doer  of  the  word  rather  than  as  its  preacher  that 
our  dead  leader  and  friend  wished  to  be  re- 
garded as  worthy."  The  editor  then  continues : 

"  Few  men  ever  gave  birth  to  a  greater  volume 
of  speech,  but  few  ever  had  more  contempt  for 
mere  exhortation.  He  regarded  as  valueless  and 
even  vicious  preachments  not  backed  by  deeds. 
He  did  not  minimize  St.  Paul,  but  he  held 
rather  with  St.  James. 

"  He  translated  professions  into  acts.  His  re- 
forming spirit  did  not  chill  when  he  took  an  oath 
of  office.  He  did  not  merely  urge  the  rightful- 
ness  and  necessity  of  public  control  of  public 
utilities,  but  he  was  the  chief  force  in  securing 
the  passage  of  the  Ford  and  Hepburn  bills.  He 
did  not  shrink  from  the  responsibility  of  defin- 
ing, and  was  willing  to  take  the  risks  necessarily 
incident  to  practical  experiment.  He  did  not 
consider  his  duty  as  done  when  he  had  expressed 


THE  MAN  OF  ACTION  279 

resounding  generalizations.  He  put  a  principle 
to  the  test  of  use. 

"  Imperishable  material  monuments  will  for- 
ever be  associated  with  the  name  of  Roosevelt. 
There  is  the  Panama  Canal,  which  would  not  now 
be  if  he  had  not  made  definite  decisions.  There 
is  the  great  Roosevelt  dam,  symbol  of  the  work 
of  Roosevelt  for  the  vast  irrigation  projects 
which  have  made  deserts  blossom.  He  drove 
through  the  conservation  measures  which  gave 
offense  to  so  many  selfish  interests.  The  forests 
that  now  protect  the  river  sources  of  the  West 
represent  Roosevelt  in  action. 

"  When  it  became  necessary  to  save  the  Re- 
publican party  from  the  abyss  toward  which  un- 
wise leaders  in  the  madness  of  personal  ani- 
mosity were  seeking  to  drag  it,  he  did  not  hesi- 
tate to  bolt,  although  he  well  knew  there  was  little 
chance  of  carrying  the  election.  The  list  of 
things  actually  done  is  a  long  one,  and  the  easy 
way  was  always  not  to  be  insistent. 

"  The  best  thing  about  the  lost  leader  of  Amer- 
ica was  not  his  brilliant  mind,  or  his  moral  per- 
ceptions, or  the  driving  power  of  his  will,  but  his 
character  as  evidenced  by  his  acts.  He  was  an 
embodiment  of  applied  integrity,  and  it  is  as 
such  that  his  example  will  be  of  chief  value  to 
the  future.  The  bottom  principle  guiding  him 
may  be  followed  by  every  man  or  woman  no  mat- 
ter in  what  walk  of  life." 

The  Roosevelt  gospel  of  constant  and  strenu- 
ous endeavor  gains  great  force,  therefore,  from 
the  living  example  behind  it.  He  preached  to 
others  only  what  he  practiced  himself,  and  it  is 


280        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

impossible  to  read  these  words  of  his  without 
feeling  the  impelling  force  of  the  dauntless  spirit 
expressing  itself  in  them : 

"  I  wish  to  preach,  not  the  doctrine  of  ignoble 
ease,  but  the  doctrine  of  the  strenuous  life,  the 
life  of  toil  and  effort,  of  labor  and  strife ;  to 
preach  that  highest  form  of  success  which 
comes,  not  to  the  man  who  desires  mere  easy 
peace,  but  to  the  man  who  does  not  shrink  from 
danger,  from  hardship,  or  from  bitter  toil  and 
who  out  of  these  wins  the  splendid  ultimate 
triumph. 

"  Let  us  therefore  boldly  face  the  life  of  strife, 
resolute  to  do  our  duty  well  and  manfully ;  reso- 
lute to  uphold  righteousness  by  deed  and  by 
word;  resolute  to  be  both  honest  and  brave,  to 
serve  high  ideals,  yet  to  use  practical  methods. 
Above  all,  let  us  shrink  from  no  strife,  moral  or 
physical,  within  or  without  the  nation,  provided 
we  are  certain  that  the  strife  is  justified,  for  it  is 
only  through  strife,  through  hard  and  dangerous 
endeavor,  that  we  shall  ultimately  win  the  goal 
of  true  national  greatness. 

"  Far  better  it  is  to  dare  mighty  things,  to  win 
glorious  triumphs,  even  though  checkered  by  fail- 
ure, than  to  take  rank  with  those  poor  spirits  who 
neither  enjoy  much  or  suffer  much  because  they 
live  in  the  gray  twilight  that  knows  not  victory 
or  defeat." 


Copyright  by  Brou'n  Brothers 

THE   FAMOUS   ROOSEVELT   SMILE 


HUMAN  AND  DEMOCRATIC  281 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

HUMAN    AND    DEMOCRATIC,    ABOUNDING    IN    FEL- 
LOWSHIP 

"  THIS  Government  stands  for  manhood  first 
and  for  business  only  as  an  adjunct  of  man- 
hood," was  one  of  the  keynotes  of  Roosevelt's 
American  policy.  Another  was  this :  "  There  is 
just  one  safe  motto  for  Americans  to  act  upon 
—  that  is  the  motto  of  all  men  up ;  not  some  men 
down."  The  first  interest  in  Roosevelt's  great, 
full-blooded  heart  was  man.  LThe  first  aim  in  all 
his  work  and  study  was  to  get  close  to  man  and 
help  him.  The  rich  man  and  the  poor  man,  the 
powerful  and  the  ignorant,  the  white  and  the 
black  interested  him,  and  he  measured^ their  work 
by  their  conduct,  not  by  their  station.  "  His  in- 
terest in,  knowledge  of,  and  sympathy  with  all 
forms  and  manifestations  of  human  life,  either 
past  Or  of  the  present  time,"  wrote  Lawrence  F. 
Abbott  to  The  Outlook  from  Rome,  "  is  so  com- 
prehensive and  genuine  that  naturally  men  and 
things  somehow  or  other  seem  to  gravitate  to- 
ward him  and  group  themselves  around  them." 

In  Egypt,  among  the  ancient  monuments  and 
striking  attractions  which  occupy  the  average 
tourist,  the  thing  that  most  absorbed  Mr.  Roose- 
velt was  the  human  life  of  Egypt  to-day,  and  its 
relation  to  past  and  future  civilization.  Always 
he  was  anxious  to  rub  against  real  men  stripped 
of  all  external  dignities  and  conventionalities.  It 
was  the  one  trait  in  particular  which,  in  Egypt, 


282        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

caused  "  the  most  hospitable  and  cordial  friend- 
ship and  sincere  respect  to  be  showered  upon  Mr. 
Roosevelt  by  everybody,  from  the  Khedive  down 
to  the  humblest  cab  driver,"  and  in  his  own  land 
gave  him  so  intimate  a  place  in  the  understand- 
ing and  the  love  of  all  the  people. 

The  most  thoroughly  human  qualities  were 
conspicuous  in  Roosevelt  at  every  point  of  con- 
tact. ''His  acts  ai\d  his  words  were  all  spon- 
taneous and  natural.  The  man  was  in  the  fore- 
ground, and  office  or  function  in  the  background. 
i.  His  faults  were  just  enough  to  accent  his  genu- 
ineness and  draw  him  closer  to  the  rest  of  u-s. 
We  can  admire  and  respect  the  high  qualities  of 
any  man,  but  the  nearer  perfect  he  becomes  the 
farther  he  is  removed  from  us.  It  is  the  mis- 
takes, the  hasty  temper,  the  lapse  from  dignity, 
the  touch  of  vanity,  the  impulsive  indiscretion 
that  puts  him  for  the  moment  within  the  reach 
of  our  own  sympathy  and  understanding.  We 
seem  to  feel  that  he  is  one  of  us.  We  can  love 
him  then.  I  have  known  one  of  the  keenest  ad- 
mirers of  Mr.  Roosevelt  actually  to  chuckle  with 
delight  on  reading  of  some  "  break  "  made  by 
him,  through  which  the  human  asserted  itself  over 
the  ideal. 

But  note  this :  Never  in  all  the  years  of  his 
public  life  were  Roosevelt's  bitterest  enemies  able 
to  point  to  a  single  vicious,  impure,  or  dishonest 
act.  His  faults  were  all  from  the  hot  red  blood 
of  a  pure-souled  man. 

Mr.  George  William  Douglas  wrote  concern- 
ing him  that  it  was  the  human  side  of  the  man 
which  made  him  believe  that  good  government 


HUMAN  AND  DEMOCRATIC  283 

is  more  than  a  matter  of  enforcement  of  abstract 
theories.  It  must  in  some  way  make  human  fel- 
lowship an  easier  and  a  less  restricted  enjoy- 
ment. There  is  the  case  of  Peter  Kelley,  for 
instance.  Kelley  was  a  young  Brooklyn  lawyer 
who  was  sent  to  the  New  York  Legislature  by  the 
Democrats  in  1883,  when  Mr.  Roosevelt  was 
serving  in  that  body.  Kelley  attached  himself  to 
Roosevelt,  and  the  two  worked  together  for  those 
things  in  which  both  believed.  The  Brooklyn 
Democratic  organization  was  not  pleased  with 
Kelley's  independence  and  he  was  not  renomi- 
nated.  He  had  given  so  much  attention  to  his 
legislative  duties  that  his  law  practice  suffered 
and  he  could  not  get  it  back  again.  As  time  went 
on  he  fell  ill,  and  his  landlord  threatened  to 
evict  him  for  non-payment  of  rent.  Mr.  Roose- 
velt heard  of  the  matter,  and  sent  a  check  for 
several  hundred  dollars  to  Kelley,  with  a  mes- 
sage telling  him  to  consider  it  as  a  loan  to  be 
repaid  at  his  convenience.  Kelley  accepted  it 
in  the  spirit  in  which  it  was  offered. 

Then  Mr.  Roosevelt  was  asked  to  speak  at  a 
meeting  in  Brooklyn,  held  some  time  after  the 
mayoralty  election  in  1887.  He  said  as  he  arose, 
"  You  wish  me  to  talk  about  civic  reform  and 
good  citizenship.  I  suppose." 

Some  voices  were  heard  saying  "  Yes,"  and 
"  That  is  what  we  came  for." 

"  Then,"  said  he,  "  I  will  tell  you  about  one  of 
your  own  neighbors,  my  friend,  Peter  Kelley. 
He  is  a  Democrat,  while  I  am  a  Republican,  but 
honesty  in  public  service  knows  no  party  lines. 
The  first  duty  of  decent  citizenship  is  to  stand 


284        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

by  a  good  man  when  you  have  found  him ;  that  is 
the  only  way  you  can  keep  popular  government 
respectable,  and  the  people  of  Brooklyn  have  not 
stood  by  Peter  Kelley." 

Then  he  told  the  story  of  Kelley's  record  in  the 
Legislature  and  of  the  treatment  which  he  had 
received  from  his  party  at  home,  and  aroused  so 
much  admiration  and  sympathy  for  the  man  that 
it  began  to  look  as  if  he  would  have  clients 
enough  in  the  future.  And  Alfred  C.  Chapin, 
who  had  just  been  elected  mayor,  offered  to  ap- 
point Kelley  to  a  city  office.  Mr.  Roosevelt's 
appeal  to  the  humanity  of  his  audience  came  too 
late,  as  Kelley  died  that  night. 

Probably  one  of  the  finest  illustrations  of  Mr. 
Roosevelt's  admiration  for  the  splendid  human 
traits  in  the  men  with  whom  he  has  been  associ- 
ated is  found  in  the  tribute  which  he  paid  to 
Leonard  Wood,  William  H.  Taft,  and  Elihu  Root 
in  his  speech  at  the  Harvard  Commencement  din- 
ner, June  25,  1902.  He  reviewed  briefly  their 
work  in  the  War  Department,  in  the  Philippines 
and  in  Cuba,  and  concluded :  "  These  three  men 
have  done  that  service.  I  can  do  nothing  for 
them.  I  can  show  my  appreciation  of  them  in 
no  way  save  the  wholly  insufficient  one  of  stand- 
ing up  for  them  and  for  their  works,  and  that  I 
will  do." 

Dr.  Edward  Everett  Hale  appreciated  the  sig- 
nificance of  the  address,  for  that  same  day,  at  a 
reunion  of  the  members  of  the  Alpha  Delta  Phi 
fraternity,  he  said,  after  Mr.  Roosevelt  had  pre- 
sented a  gold  medal  to  him  in  behalf  of  his  fel- 
low-fraternity men : 


HUMAN  AND  DEMOCRATIC  285 

"  Some  of  you  heard  the  President's  speech. 

"  To  those  who  were  not  there,  I  say  you 
should  have  been  there,  because  it  is  a  speech  not 
to  be  remembered  for  a  lifetime,  but  for  cen- 
turies, by  one  who  gave  every  moment  he  had  to 
extol  the  work  of  three  of  his  great  lieutenants 
that  they  might  have  the  fair  honor  which  they 
deserve.  I  do  not  know  that  there  is  anything 
like  it  in  literature,  where  a  chief  has  stood  so 
loyally  by  three  men  who  stood  so  loyally  by  him 
and  the  country  as  well." 

When  he  attended  his  class  reunion  at  Harv- 
ard in  1905,  on  the  twenty-fifth  anniversary  of 
his  graduation,  he  manifested  the  same  disposi- 
tion to  say  a  good  word  for  others.  It  was  at  the 
meeting  of  the  alumni,  presided  over  by  Bishop 
Lawrence,  of  Massachusetts,  president  of  the  as- 
sociation, that  he  said : 

"  I  speak  on  behalf  of  the  younger  men  here 
present  when  I  say  that  we  shall  count  ourselves 
more  than  happy  if  we  can  in  any  way  approach 
the  service  of  the  older  men  in  Harvard  to  the 
Union.  In  Bishop  Lawrence's  very  touching  in- 
troduction of  me  he  spoke  of  the  effort  I  am  mak- 
ing for  peace.  [The  President's  intervention  in 
the  war  between  Russia  and  Japan,  which  was 
later  followed  by  a  cessation  of  hostilities  and  a 
treaty  of  peace.]  Of  course  I  am  for  peace. 
Of  course  every  President  who  is  fit  to  be  Presi- 
dent is  for  peace.  But  I  am  for  one  thing  be- 
fore peace  —  I  am  for  righteousness  first,  and 
for  peace,  because  normal  peace  is  the  instru- 
ment for  obtaining  righteousness.  I  am  speak- 
ing now  on  behalf  of  the  class  of  '80,  and  as 


286         ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

nobody  else  has  blown  our  horn  for  us  I  am  go- 
ing to  blow  it  just  a  little.  We  have  followed 
the  example  so  admirably  set  by  the  class  of  '79 
in  seeking  to  show  in  practical  fashion  our  desire 
to  do  something  for  the  University.  Acting 
largely  under  the  lead  of  Mr.  Robert  Bacon,  we 
have  raised  —  Gentlemen,  I  am  going  to  ask  you 
to  give  nine  cheers  for  Robert  Bacon."  The 
President  led  the  cheering  and  continued :  "  We 
have  raised  a  fund  to  be  used  without  conditions 
at  all  for  the  benefit  of  the  university,  but  we 
hope  it  will  be  used  in  increasing  the  salaries  of 
those  employed  to  teach  in  Harvard  University. 
We  ought  to  raise  salaries  for  the  sake  of  giv- 
ing a  more  adequate  reward  to  the  men.  But 
even  if  they  would  go  on  working  at  improperly 
low  salaries,  we  ought  to  give  them  decent  ones 
for  the  sake  of  our  own  self-respect." 

It  is  this  sort  of  whole-souled  plea  for  others 
that  was  partly  responsible  for  the  great  affection 
in  which  the  country  ever  held  him,  an  affection 
so  great  that  even  the  children  shared  it  and 
spoke  of  him  familiarly.  A  school-teacher  in 
Syracuse  disclosed  this  mental  attitude  when 
she  asked  a  little  girl  in  class  to  name  the  head  of 
the  government. 

"  Mr.  Roosevelt,"  she  replied. 

"  That  is  right,  but  what  is  his  official  title  ?  " 

"  Teddy  !  "  was  the  instant  response,  made  with 
great  assurance. 

Even  the  small  boys  who  were  taken  to  Wash- 
ington by  their  fathers  to  see  the  President  got 
impatient  in  the  waiting-room  and  asked: 

"  When   are   we   going   to   see   Teddy  ?"   and 


HUMAN  AND  DEMOCRATIC  287 

again,  "  Is  this  where  Teddy  Roosevelt  works  ?  " 

Mr.  Roosevelt's  interest  in  the  old  home  of 
his  mother  in  Roswell,  Georgia,  and  in  the  old 
family  servants,  manifested  during  his  visit 
there  in  1905,  has  been  well  described  by  Mr. 
Ralph  Smith,  who  says  that  as  the  President's 
carriage  passed  through  Roswell  on  the  way  to 
the  homestead  on  the  hill  an  old  man  shouted: 

"  There's  Teddy,  Martha's  son !  " 

The  President  himself  made  a  low  bow  and 
waved  his  hand  in  the  direction  of  the  old  man. 
At  the  homestead  "  Mom  "  Grace  and  "  Daddy  " 
Williams,  old  servants  of  the  Bullocks,  had  gath- 
ered with  the  Wing  family  and  their  relations. 
When  the  President  and  his  party  reached  the 
house  the  people  assembled  were  introduced  by 
Senator  Clay  to  the  President  and  Mrs.  Roose- 
velt. It  was  not  long  before  the  President's 
attention  was  drawn  to  an  old  negro  woman, 
stooped  under  the  weight  of  years,  her  skin  black 
and  wrinkled. 

"  This  is  Auntie  Grace,"  said  one  of  the  ladies, 
who  had  noticed  Mr.  Roosevelt's  evident  inter- 
est. 

"  Mom  Grace,  you  mean,  don't  you  ?  "  asked 
he.  "  I  always  heard  her  called  '  Mom '  Grace, 
not  Auntie  Grace." 

"Yes,  sah,"  said  the  old  woman;  "  dis  am 
'  Mom  Grace/  Miss  Mittie's  nuss,  and  you  was 
Miss  Mittie's  son  ?  "  she  asked. 

"  Yes,  Mom  Grace,  I  am  Miss  Mittie's  son,  and 
I  am  certainly  very  happy  to  see  you,"  and  the 
President  cordially  grasped  the  old  woman's 
hand. 


288        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

"  I  sho'  'member  Miss  Mittie,  just  like  it  was 
yestiddy,"  she  said,  "  and  I  sho'  is  happy  to  see 
you,  too." 

"  Where  is  Daddy  Williams  ?  "  the  President 
asked,  referring  to  a  servant  who  had  been  raised 
as  a  slave  by  the  family. 

The  old  man  was  brought  forward  and  was 
greeted  heartily.  The  President  then  turned  to 
Mrs.  E.  H.  Wood  and  asked  about  the  "  beauti- 
ful bed  of  violets  that  my  mother  used  to  talk 
about."  It  was  shown  to  him  with  many  flowers 
in  blossom.  Then  he  desired  to  see  the  old  well 
that  was  used  as  a  cold-storage  vault.  He  went 
through  the  house  from  top  to  bottom  and  ex- 
plored the  back  yard,  talking  all  the  time  of  the 
many  things  which  his  mother  had  told  him  of 
the  place.  Finally  he  stood  for  his  photograph 
on  the  front  porch.  Before  the  group  was  posed 
he  said : 

"  Where  are  Mom  Grace  and  Daddy  Williams  ? 
They  must  be  in  this  picture." 

And  Theodore  Roosevelt,  son  of  Martha  Bul- 
lock, stood  before  the  Southern  homestead  beside 
his  mother's  old  black  nurse  and  another  family 
servant,  an  intensely  human  man  yielding  to  the 
natural  impulses  of  interest  in  all  that  per- 
tained to  the  life  of  his  family  in  the  generation 
before  him. 

Mr.  Roosevelt's  keenest  interest  was  always 
in  the  man  who  was  fighting  his  way  up  in  the 
world,  says  Henry  L.  Stoddard,  who  is  authority 
for  the  following: 

"  Roosevelt  was  accused  of  insincerity  in  meet- 
ing Tom,  Dick  and  Harry,  but  those  who  knew 


HUMAN  AND  DEMOCRATIC  289 

and  understood  the  man  knew  well  that  insin- 
cerity was  not  in  his  make-up.  He  was,  if  any- 
thing, too  sincere  for  his  own  good.  He  really 
liked  to  do  something  for  the  fellow  at  the  bot- 
tom of  the  ladder. 

"  I  could  quote  many  instances.  I  recall  one 
in  particular  that  happened  while  I  was  with  him 
in  Trinidad  two  years  ago.  The  cruiser 
Tennessee  arrived  at  the  port  just  as  we  were 
leaving.  Several  of  the  officers  came  ashore,  and 
as  soon  as  they  learned  that  Colonel  Roosevelt 
was  on  the  wharf  they  hustled  over  to  greet  him. 

"  While  he  was  talking  with  them,  I  noticed 
that  the  sailors  who  had  rowed  the  officers  over 
were  trying  vainly  to  get  the  Colonel's  attention. 
They  did  not  dare  offend  their  superiors,  but  they 
did  want  a  word  and  a  nod  from  '  Teddy.' 

"  I  could  see  that  it  would  mean  much  to  them, 
thousands  of  miles  from  home,  to  get  a  word 
from  their  former  President.  At  the  right  mo- 
ment I  told  him  that  some  of  the  sailor  lads  were 
eager  to  greet  him. 

"  Good-by  to  the  officer !  The  Colonel  was  off 
at  once  to  the  side  of  the  wharf ;  the  boys  gave  a 
cheer,  and  then  a  round  of  cheers.  Then  several 
of  them  pulled  out  cameras  and  asked  leave  to 
kodak  him.  It  was  the  event  of  their  lives,  no 
doubt,  and  as  we  turned  away  the  Colonel  re- 
marked, '  By  Jove !  I  wouldn't  have  missed  that 
for  a  good  deal.  I  enjoyed  it  as  much  as  the 
boys.  We're  both  far  away  from  home.'  " 

Mr.  Roosevelt  never  regarded  himself  as  better 
than  anybody  else,  and  never  asked  that  rules  be 
suspended  in  his  behalf.  Years  ago,  while  he 


2QO        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

was  still  a  very  young  man,  he  visited  the  Yel- 
lowstone Park.  His  seat  mate  on  the  stage  that 
carried  the  party  from  the  railroad  to  the  park 
says: 

"  When  we  reached  the  government  station,  at 
the  entrance  to  the  National  Park,  an  official 
asked  that  all  hunting  arms  be  passed  to  him 
in  order  that  he  might  seal  them.  Mr.  Roose- 
velt promptly  turned  his  guns  over  to  the  official ; 
but  the  man  instantly  recognized  the  traveler  and 
offered  them  back.  The  recognition  was  mutual. 

" '  Your  guns  are  all  right,  Mr.  Roosevelt,' 
said  the  government  official  in  a  low  tone. 

' '  No ;  they  have  no  seals  upon  them,'  was  the 
prompt  reply. 

"  '  I  can  trust  you,'  answered  the  inspector. 

" '  Not  on  your  life,'  answered  the  visitor. 
'  Seal  'em  up !  No  special  privileges  for  me, 
just  because  we  have  met  before,  old  man.' 

"  And  Mr.  Roosevelt's  guns  were  sealed  like 
the  others." 

It  would  have  been  easy  for  Mr.  Roosevelt  to 
fall  in  with  the  theories  and  practices  of  the 
people  who  believe  in  government  by  the  few  on 
the  ground  that  the  many  cannot  be  trusted  to 
decide  what  is  good  for  them.  But  the  notion  of 
imposing  government  from  above  on  anybody 
save  the  criminal,  seems  never  to  have  occurred 
to  him  as  a  just  or  a  righteous  thing.  He  told 
a  New  York  audience  in  1890  that  he  had  more 
confidence  in  the  virile  vicious  than  in  the  inef- 
ficient and  degenerate  "  higher  society."  He 
only  elaborated  this  idea  when  he  said  on  an- 
other occasion: 


HUMAN  AND  DEMOCRATIC  291 

"For  myself,  I'd  work  as  quickly  beside  Pat 
•Dugan  as  with  the  last  descendants  of  the 
Patroon.  It  literally  makes  no  difference  to  me, 
so  long  as  the  work  is  good  and  the  man  is  in 
earnest.  I  would  have  the  young  men  work. 
I'd  try  to  develop  and  work  out  an  ideal  of  mine, 
the  theory  of  the  duty  of  the  leisure  classes  to  the 
community.  I  have  tried  to  do  it  by  example, 
and  it  is  what  I  have  preached  —  first  and  fore- 
most, to  be  American,  heart  and  soul,  and  to  go 
with  any  person,  heedless  of  anything  but  that 
man's  personal  qualifications." 

It  was  always  the  man  that  counted  with  him. 
"  The  rank  is  but  the  guinea's  stamp."  And 
when  he  found  a  man  he  was  always  loyal  to  him. 
All  those  who  had  anything  to  do  with  him  know 
this.  He  showed  it  in  Bangor,  Maine,  when  he 
was  there  in  the  summer  of  1902.  At  a  suitable 
pause  in  the  proceedings  of  the  meeting  which 
he  was  addressing  he  went  to  the  edge  of  the  plat- 
form and  called  out: 

"  If  '  Old  Bill '  Sewall  is  in  town  I  want  him  to 
join  me  at  luncheon,  for  I  feel  like  a  man  who 
has  lost  a  partner  in  a  crowd." 

It  was  William  Wingate  Sewall,  of  Island 
Falls,  that  -he  wanted,  the  man  who  went  West 
with  him  when  he  bought  his  ranch  in  Dakota 
Territory.  There  was  a  scurrying  hunt  for 
Sewall,  and  when  he  was  found  he  shared  the 
honors  of  the  day  with  the  President. 

"  I  knew  that  if  the  President  knew  I  was 
around,"  said  he  in  the  evening,  when  the  excite- 
ment 'had  subsided  somewhat,  "  he'd  have  me 
right  with  him,  but  I  didn't  think  it  would  be 


292        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

anything  like  this.  I  have  known  him  for 
twenty-three  years  —  ever  since  he  was  a  college 
boy.  We  didn't  talk  much  about  politics  to- 
day. We  had  other  things  to  talk  about." 

According  to  General  Charles  F.  Manderson, 
former  United  States  Senator  from  Nebraska, 
Mr.  Roosevelt's  democratic  manner  had  a  some- 
what startling  effect  on  a  prominent  Englishman 
who  saw  him  when  he  was  Governor  of  New 
York. 

"  I  was  in  Buffalo,  attending  a  meeting  of  the 
American  Bar  Association,"  said  General  Man- 
derson, who  was  its  president.  "  Among  the  dis- 
tinguished guests  present  from  abroad  was  Sir 
William  Kennedy,  of  London,  eminent  in  the  pro- 
fession, and  one  of  the  justices  of  the  High  Court 
of  Justice  of  Great  Britain  and  president  of  the 
International  Law  Association. 

"  One  night  while  seated  in  the  parlor  of  our 
hotel  the  attention  of  the  English  lawyers  who 
were  present  was  attracted  by  considerable 
hilarity  in  an  adjoining  room.  Later  on  the  door 
opened  and  in  walked  Governor  Roosevelt.  He 
greeted  me  in  his  usual  breezy  fashion,  and  in 
explanation  of  his  presence  in  town  stated  that 
he  had  been  addressing  some  of  the  agricultural 
societies  of  the  State  and  had  come  to  Buffalo 
to  dine  and  spend  the  evening  with  a  number  of 
his  personal  and  political  friends.  He  spoke  to 
me  of  having  lately  attended  a  reunion  of  Rough 
Riders,  and  greatly  amused  and  interested  me 
and  the  group  of  foreign  gentlemen,  all  of  them 
lawyers,  seated  near,  with  a  vivid  and  picturesque 
description  of  his  army  life  in  Cuba;  of  the  life 


HUMAN  AND  DEMOCRATIC  293 

on  the  plains  in  which  he  had  figured,  with  tales 
of  bucking  bronchos  and  cavorting  steers  with 
heads  aloft  and  tails  over  their  backs  in  wild 
stampede.  He  also  gave  interesting  bits  of  hunt- 
ing scenes,  and  wound  up  with  some  unique 
views  of  men  and  things  interesting  to  him  in  his 
brief  but  strenuous  existence. 

"  I  took  advantage  of  a  pause  in  the  conversa- 
tion," General  Manderson  continues,  "  to  intro- 
duce the  foreign  gentlemen  present  After  Mr. 
Roosevelt  had  taken  his  departure,  Sir  William 
Kennedy  broke  out  with,  '  But,  I  say,  Senator, 
that  is  a  very  remarkable  man,  you  know,  a  very 
remarkable  man.  And  you  say  he  is  Governor 
of  New  York.  That  is  very  surprising,  you 
know.  I  really  can't  say  that  I  ever  before  met 
exactly  such  a  man.  And  he  seems  to  be  a 
fighter.  I  rather  like  that  in  him.  And  you  say 
he  is  a  writer  of  high  repute,  too?  Well,  by 
Jove,  he  is  the  queerest  combination  I  have  ever 
met.' 

"  During  the  summer  of  1901,  while  I  was  in 
London,  I  again  met  Sir  William.  Mr.  Roose- 
velt's impressive  individuality  still  dominated  his 
mind,  for  after  indulging  in  some  preliminary 
conversation  he  remarked:  "By  the  way,  I  see 
that  your  friend,  Roosevelt,  whom  we  met  in 
Buffalo,  is  Vice-President.  That  is  very  astonish- 
ing, very  astonishing,  indeed.  I  was  much  in- 
terested in  him  at  the  time  and  have  watched  his 
course  and  have  read  some  of  his  writings.  He 
seems  to  write  as  well  as  he  fights,  and  is  very 
young  to  have  had  such  an  eventful  career.' 

"  I  told  him  to  watch  the  future  and  not  be 


294        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

astonished  at  what  could  be  achieved  by  young 
men  in  this  young  country  of  ours.  I  then  in- 
creased his  amazement  by  telling  him  the  story  of 
Roosevelt's  nomination  as  Vice-President,  and 
how  it  was  forced  upon  him.  When  he  heard 
that  his  great  desire  was  to  be  re-elected  as  Gov- 
ernor of  New  York,  that  he  might  carry  out  cer- 
tain reforms,  the  amazement  of  this  intelligent 
and  appreciative  jurist  increased. 

"  Sir  William  Kennedy  was  in  this  country 
again  in  the  summer  of  1904,"  General  Mander- 
son  concluded,  "  and  I  met  him  at  the  Congress 
of  Lawyers  in  St.  Louis.  He  had  ceased  to  be 
amazed,  and  his  astonishment  had  given  way  to 
the  satisfaction  that  all  prominent  Englishmen 
seemed  to  feel  over  the  advancement  of  this  typi- 
cal American." 

The  human  and  humane  things  seemed  to  be 
easy  for  him,  even  though  at  times  it  meant  tak- 
ing note  of  trivial  matters.  One  day  while  Gov- 
ernor he  was  walking  from  the  Capitol  in  Albany, 
accompanied  by  a  friend,  when  he  noticed  two 
sturdy  but  tired  horses  striving  to  haul  a  load  up 
the  ice-covered  street. 

One  of  the  horses  slipped.  Mr.  Roosevelt 
stopped  at  once,  and  with  the  absorbed  expres- 
sion on  his  face  which  he  wears  when  deeply 
interested,  watched  the  horse  get  up  on  his  feet. 
The  animal  stumbled  again  and  fell. 

"  Stop  a  moment,"  Mr.  Roosevelt  said  to  the 
driver.  "  Drive  sideways." 

The  man  did  not  recognize  the  Governor  and 
was  about  to  curse  him  for  interfering  when 
Mr.  Roosevelt  caught  his  eye.  Then  the  man 


HUMAN  AND  DEMOCRATIC  295 

zigzagged  his  horses  up  the  hill  past  the  ice  with 
never  a  word. 

The  grim  look  on  the  Governor's  face  disap- 
peared as  quickly  as  it  came,  and  the  next  mo- 
ment he  had  lifted  his  hat  to  a  little  child  who 
had  saluted  him  in  military  fashion. 

With  equal  sympathy  he  relieved  the  embar- 
rassment of  a  new  page  who  was  overawed  by  his 
boyish  idea  of  the  greatness  of  the  head  of  the 
State  government.  The  boy  had  to  deliver  a 
message  to  the  Governor  and  he  entered  the  ex- 
ecutive chamber  with  his  heart  in  his  throat  and 
his  knees  trembling  from  embarrassment.  When 
he  reappeared  from  the  room  after  delivering  the 
note  he  was  smiling  blissfully,  and  as  he  met 
another  page  he  exclaimed  enthusiastically: 

"  Say,  ain't  Teddy  a  peach !  " 

Neither  as  Governor  of  his  own  State,  nor  yet 
as  President,  did  he  for  one  moment  forget  that 
he  was  "  just  folks."  He  did  chafe,  however, 
under  the  awesome  manner  with  which  he  was 
sometimes  approached.  In  referring  to  this  sub- 
ject in  conversation  with  a  friend  at  dinner,  he 
said: 

"  I  am  losing  all  my  manners.  The  ladies 
won't  sit  down  where  I  am  unless  I  sit  down 
first." 

When  a  woman  from  Jacksonville,  Florida, 
was  presented  to  him  in  his  office,  she  announced : 

"  Mr.  President,  I  have  come  all  this  way  just 
to  see  you.  I  have  never  seen  a  live  President 
before." 

"  Well,  well,"  was  the  reply,  while  the  woman 
looked  shocked,  "  I  hope  you  don't  feel  disap- 


296        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

pointed,  now  that  you  have  seen  one.  Lots  of 
people  in  these  parts  go  all  the  way  to  Jackson- 
ville to  see  a  live  alligator." 

He  surprised  a  painter  who  was  at  work  on  the 
White  House  just  as  he  astonished  the  woman 
from  Jacksonville.  He  went  out  of  the  house 
one  day  to  see  how  the  men  were  getting  on  with 
their  work.  One  of  them  was  swinging  his 
brush  in  a  leisurely  fashion  and  Mr.  Roosevelt 
stopped  near  him  to  see  how  slowly  the  man 
could  work.  Pretty  soon  he  demanded: 

"  How  much  do  you  get  a  day?  " 

"  Three  and  a  quarter,"  the  painter  replied. 

"  That's  big  pay  for  such  pleasant  work,"  re- 
joined the  President.  "  When  I  was  a  boy  I 
used  to  think  that  I  would  like  to  be  a  painter. 
It  always  appealed  to  me  because  you  can  see 
something  accomplished  with  each  stroke  of  the 
brush." 

By  this  time  Mr.  Roosevelt  was  close  beside 
the  man,  who  asked  him  if  he  did  not  want  to 
try  his  hand  at  painting  now,  and  offered  his 
brush.  Much  to  his  surprise,  the  President  took 
it  and  for  a  time  covered  the  wall  with  paint  at 
a  rapid  rate.  He  went  over  fully  ten  square 
feet  of  surface  before  he  surrendered  the  brush. 
Then  he  nodded,  as  much  as  to  say,  "  That  is  the 
way  you  ought  to  work,"  and  walked  over  to  a 
gang  of  men  who  were  shoveling  dirt  into  a 
wagon. 

One  of  his  South  Dakota  friends  went  to 
Washington  to  renew  his  acquaintance  with  Mr. 
Roosevelt  soon  after  he  became  President. 
While  he  was  there  he  attended  a  musicale  at  the 


HUMAN  AND  DEMOCRATIC  297 

White  House.  At  the  close  of  the  program  — 
classical  music  only  had  been  played  —  some  one 
asked  the  man  banteringly  how  he  had  liked  the 
entertainment. 

"  I  am  afraid,"  he  replied  dryly,  as  many  an- 
other man  would  have  done,  "  I'm  afraid  it  was 
a  spell  too  far  up  the  gulch  for  me." 

The  President,  who  heard  the  pertinent  criti- 
cism, laughed  heartily,  turned  to  the  man's  wife 
and  saved  the  situation  by  remarking: 

"  You'd  better  take  care  of  the  captain's  pistol. 
I  know  that  out  in  his  country  they  shoot  the 
fiddler  when  he  doesn't  play  the  tunes  they 
want." 

In  the  autumn  of  1903  a  committee  of  labor 
men  from  Montana  went  to  Washington  to  talk 
about  the  labor  situation  in  that  State.  Before 
entering  on  the  discussion  of  their  business  the 
President  entertained  them  at  luncheon,  with 
Secretary  Cortelyou,  of  the  Department  of  Labor 
and  Commerce ;  Carroll  D.  Wright,  Labor  Com- 
missioner; Representative  Dixon  of  Montana, 
and  Wayne  McVeagh,  as  the  other  guests.  He 
told  the  labor  men  he  was  "  as  glad  to  welcome 
them  as  he  would  be  to  receive  seven  of  the 
richest  and  most  influential  men  in  the  coun- 
try," and  then  led  the  conversation  around  to 
life  in  the  West,  with  which  his  guests  were 
familiar,  and  still  further  appealed  to  them  by 
stories  of  his  own  experience. 

"  The  best  meal  I  have  ever  eaten,"  said  he, 
among  other  things,  "  or  at  least,  the  one  that 
tasted  best,  I  got  in  Butte,  and  it  cost  me  just 
twenty-five  cents. 


2Q8        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

"  In  1885,  Jack  Willis,  a  cowboy  friend  of 
mine,  and  I  landed  in  Butte.  Our  remittances 
had  been  delayed  and  we  had  just  half  a  dollar 
between  us.  We  were  so  hungry  we  could  hardly 
see,  and  we  were  much  afraid  that  our  fifty 
cents  would  not  go  far  toward  satisfying  our 
appetites. 

"  Finally  we  found  a  twenty-five-cent  restau- 
rant —  not  a  Chinese  restaurant,  either  —  and 
the  meal  we  got  there  made  us  happy  and  con- 
tent. The  next  day  our  money  reached  us  and 
we  were  all  right.  But  ever  since  then  I  have 
had  a  warm  place  in  my  heart  for  Butte." 

His  human  sympathy  made  it  possible  for  him 
to  get  enjoyment  out  of  many  novel  situations. 
The  Kansas  City  newspapers  have  preserved  an 
instance  of  his  geniality,  shown  at  the  time  of  his 
visit  to  that  city  in  1903.  As  the  parade  in  his 
honor  was  passing  along  Walnut  Street  a  cow- 
boy stepped  over  the  rope  that  was  holding  back 
the  spectators  —  he  was  tall  enough  to  step  over 
it  easily  —  and,  taking  off  his  sombrero  with  a 
courtly  flourish,  as  the  President  appeared,  he 
yelled: 

"  Hello,  Ted  !  " 

The  President  looked  around  suddenly,  a  broad 
smile  spread  over  his  features,  and  he  slowly  and 
distinctly  winked  his  left  eye  at  the  man  in  the 
street. 

When  the  police  succeeded  in  getting  the  cow- 
boy back  behind  the  rope,  where  he  belonged  and 
where  he  was  among  his  friends,  he  exclaimed 
enthusiastically : 

"Did  you  see  him  recognize  me?    Why,  me 


HUMAN  AND  DEMOCRATIC  299 

and  Ted  used  to  ride  the  range  together  in  Wy- 
oming. We're  old  pals.  Did  you  see  him  wink 
t'other  eye  ?  He  knows  me  all  right." 

Mr.  Roosevelt  never  confessed  whether  he 
knew  the  man,  or  only  knew  what  would  please 
him. 

As  President,  he  always  tried  to  gratify  the 
desire  of  the  people  to  see  him.  On  his  tours 
of  the  country  he  recognized  the  propriety  of  the 
curiosity  of  the  people  to  look  on  a  "  live  Presi- 
dent," even  though  he  did  smile  when  they  con- 
fessed that  curiosity  in  Washington. 

"  I  had  the  honor  to  be  the  guest  of  the  Presi- 
dent during  his  journey  through  the  Eighth  Con- 
gressional District  of  Iowa,"  said  Colonel  Hep- 
burn, the  representative  of  that  district,  in  dis- 
cussing this  subject.  "  The  schedule  provided 
for  five  stops,  at  which  times  the  President  made 
some  remarks  to  the  vast  crowds  of  people  who 
had  gathered  to  see  the  Chief  Executive.  We 
passed  through,  perhaps,  twenty  towns  where  no 
stops  were  made,  but  the  President  insisted  that 
the  train  should  slow  up  at  every  station,  and  no 
matter  what  he  happened  to  be  engaged  in  doing 
at  the  time,  he  instantly  ran  to  the  rear  platform 
and  bowed,  and  in  some  instances  waved  his  hat 
or  handkerchief  to  the  masses  of  people  who  had 
expected  to  get  only  a  glimpse  of  a  flying  train 
bearing  the  President  of  the  United  States. 

"  It  was  raining  at  one  of  the  points  where  a 
stop  was  made,"  Colonel  Hepburn  continued, 
"  and  the  President  was  to  take  a  short  drive 
and  inspect  the  town.  The  committee  on  re- 
ception had  provided  a  covered  carriage,  but  the 


300        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

President  insisted  that  the  top  should  be  lowered 
even  though  it  exposed  him  to  the  storm.  As  the 
top  was  dropped,  he  remarked : 

"  '  These  thousands  of  people  have  assembled 
this  bad  day  to  see  their  President;  if  they  can 
stand  to  walk  in  the  rain,  I  guess  I  can  stand  it  to 
ride  a  few  minutes  in  the  rain.'  " 

At  the  town  of  Diagonal,  the  President  was 
making  a  speech.  An  old  crippled  soldier  hob- 
bled along  and  tried  to  find  a  seat  without  suc- 
cess. The  President  stopped: 

"  '  I  cannot  proceed  until  that  old  soldier  is 
provided  with  a  place  to  sit.' 

"  At  one  point  the  President  looked  out  of  the 
window  of  the  car  and  a  few  rods  ahead  saw  a 
farmer  in  his  working  clothes  with  bared  head, 
standing  alongside  the  track  that  ran  through  his 
cornfield.  Realizing  that  the  farmer  intended  to 
show  his  respect  for  the  President  of  the  United 
States  as  he  was  borne  by  on  the  rushing  train, 
Mr.  Roosevelt,  without  stopping  to  excuse  him- 
self to  the  men  he  was  talking  with,  seized  his 
hat,  dashed  to  the  rear  platform,  swung  it  in  the 
air  and  bowed." 

Mr.  Roosevelt's  approachableness  impressed  it- 
self upon  all  who  had  anything  to  do  with  him, 
whether  it  was  the  members  of  the  Diplomatic 
Corps  or  whether  it  was  his  own  countrymen  of 
whatever  station. 

"  '  Mr.  Roosevelt  is  by  all  odds  the  most  demo- 
cratic President  we  have  had  since  the  days  of 
Jefferson.' 

"  These  words,"  said  Mr.  Eggleston  in  the  in- 
teresting account  of  his  visit  to  the  President  re- 


HUMAN  AND  DEMOCRATIC  301 

referred  to  in  a  previous  chapter,  "  were  spoken 
to  me  in  Washington  the  other  day  by  a  gentle- 
woman who  has  lived  long,  traveled  much,  and 
observed  closely,  and  who,  by  reason  of  her  high 
social  position,  has  had  the  entree  of  the  White 
House  for  thirty  years  or  more. 

"  I  quoted  the  utterance  to  Mr.  Roosevelt  soon 
afterward,"  Mr.  Eggleston  continues,  "  when  I 
had  the  pleasure  of  passing  an  hour  or  two  with 
him  in  the  private  residential  part  of  the  Execu- 
tive Mansion.  His  answer  was  quick,  as  his  an- 
swers are  apt  to  be  when  anything  interests 
him. 

" '  I  am  democratic,'  he  said,  with  emphasis 
on  the  verb,  '  if  the  word  democratic  is  used  in 
its  legitimate  sense.  But  I  have  no  patience  with 
the  vulgarly  ostentatious  avoidance  of  ostentation 
which  sometimes  calls  itself  "  democratic."  I 
have  no  sympathy  with  the  thought  that  in  order 
to  be  democratic  one  must  put  aside  respect  for 
the  gentle  decencies  of  life  and  make  a  boor  or  a 
clown  of  himself.  I  believe  thoroughly  in  the 
simplicities  and  the  honesties  of  life  and  in  the 
fellowship  of  all  honest  and  sincere  men.  But 
it  doesn't  appeal  to  me  when  a  man  refuses  to 
wear  the  customary  garb  of  gentlemen  lest  aris- 
tocratic pretensions  be  attributed  to  him.' 

"  You  do  not  think,  then,"  Mr.  Eggleston  inter- 
jected, "  that  one  need  go  to  a  public  dinner  with- 
out cuffs  in  order  to  demonstrate  his  democ- 
racy ?  " 

"  The  President  laughed,  and  his  laugh  was 
sufficient  answer  to  my  question,"  said  Mr. 
Eggleston.  "  But  presently  he  added : 


302         ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

'' '  It  is  my  endeavor  to  make  of  the  White 
House  during  my  term,  not  a  second-rate  palace, 
like  that  of  some  insignficant  prince,  but  the  home 
of  a  self-respecting  American  citizen  who  has 
been  called  for  a  time  to  serve  his  countrymen  in 
executive  office.  There  seems  to  be  a  world  of 
difference  between  democracy  and  demagogy. 
The  one  is  based  upon  an  honest  and  sincere  re- 
spect for  one's  fellow-men,  the  other  involves  the 
sacrifice  of  self-respect  in  an  appeal  to  vulgarity 
and  prejudice.' 

"  As  Mr.  Roosevelt  earnestly  said  this,"  com- 
mented Mr.  Eggleston,  "  I  could  not  avoid  re- 
calling that  passage  in  the  novel  called  '  Democ- 
racy,' in  which  it  is  recorded  that  a  certain  sena- 
tor of  the  cuffless  sort  gravely  doubted  the 
prudence  of  taking  a  daily  bath  lest  the  practice 
be  regarded  by  his  constituents  as  '  savoring  of 
aristocracy.'  " 

Mr.  Eggleston  also  recorded  the  impression 
which  he  received  of  the  President's  appreciation 
of  the  dignity  of  the  great  office  that  he  occu- 
pied. "  He  is,  first  of  all,  a  gentleman,  with  all 
a  gentleman's  self-respect.  He  is,  secondly,  an 
American  citizen,  so  strongly  imbued  with  a 
sense  of  the  dignity  of  American  citizenship  that 
he  makes  his  respectful  bow  to  it  whenever  he 
meets  it.  He  is,  thirdly,  the  chosen  representa- 
tive of  eighty  million  people,  selected  from  their 
number  by  their  willing  suffrages  to  occupy  the 
highest  office  within  their  gift.  He  maintains 
all  of  dignity  that  his  high  office  demands  of 
him.  He  has  all  the  winning  and  easy  courtesy 
for  those  who  approach  him  that  any  gentleman 


HUMAN  AND  DEMOCRATIC  303 

shows  to  the  stranger  within  his  gates.  And 
with  due  respect  to  those  imperative  obliga- 
tions, he  has  all  that  any  American  citizen  can 
have  of  frank  and  generous  recognition  of  other 
citizenship  than  his  own.  When  he  comes  out 
of  his  sanctum,  as  I  saw  him  do  a  little  while  ago, 
to  greet  the  miscellaneous  throng  of  persons  who 
daily  call,  with  no  other  purpose  than  the  idle 
one  of  shaking  hands,  he  does  so  precisely  as  he 
might  enter  his  drawing-room  at  Oyster  Bay  to 
converse  with  assembled  guests.  There  is  no 
formality  or  air  of  state  in  his  demeanor ;  but 
there  is  equally  nothing  of  assumed  familiarity. 
He  does  not  sit  or  stand,  as  former  Presidents 
have  done,  to  have  his  guests  '  presented/  He 
simply  moves  about  among  them,  as  one  does  in 
his  parlor,  greeting  each  pleasantly,  saying  what- 
ever there  is  to  be  said  of  friendliness  or  cour- 
tesy, and  if  one  previously  known  to  him  hap- 
pens to  be  in  the  assemblage,  grasping  his  hand 
with  special  cordiality  and  making  pleasant  refer- 
ence to  some  previous  occasion  of  meeting.  In 
brief,  President  Roosevelt  receives  his  morning 
callers  in  the  White  House  precisely  as  Theo- 
dore Roosevelt,  citizen,  always  received  his  call- 
ers in  his  own  home.  And  he  sends  them  away 
at  last,  happy  and  with  the  feeling  that  there 
has  been  nothing  of  arrogance  in  his  reception  of 
them,  and  especially  nothing  of  condescension. 
This  robustly  healthy  American  citizen  who  is 
our  chief  executive  has  no  sympathy  with  the 
insolence  either  of  arrogance  or  of  condescen- 
sion." 

How  true  this  last  statement  is  was  well  illus- 


304        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

trated  when,  as  Civil  Service  Commissioner,  Mr. 
Roosevelt  kept  President  Harrison  waiting  while 
he  showed  an  errand  boy  the  shortest  route  from 
the  Treasury  Building  to  the  Capitol. 

He  went  about  his  business  as  any  other  self- 
respecting  citizen,  making  himself  inconspicuous 
rather  than  thrusting  himself  forward.  When 
he  was  president  of  the  Police  Commission  in 
New  York,  he  attended  the  Bourke  Cockran 
meeting  in  Madison  Square  Garden  in  the  au- 
tumn of  1896.  As  he  entered  the  hall,  the  peo- 
ple began  to  crane  their  necks  and  look  at  him, 
and  "  There's  Roosevelt,"  was  heard  from  many 
voices  as  he  walked  along.  Men  stopped  him 
to  grasp  his  hand,  and  he  would  respond  briefly 
and  hasten  along,  evidently  anxious  to  escape 
the  crowd.  When  he  reached  the  box  he  went 
to  the  back  of  it  and  got  behind  the  gentlemen 
who  were  with  him,  apparently  desiring  to  hide 
himself  from  the  curious  eyes  that  seemed  to 
follow  his  every  move. 

In  Washington  he  also  strove  to  make  him- 
self inconspicuous,  and  succeeded  in  walking 
about  the  city  many  times  without  attracting  spe- 
cial attention.  For  instance,  one  December  Sun- 
day afternoon  when  Connecticut  Avenue  was  full 
of  dignitaries  he  walked  through  the  street  with- 
out being  recognized.  He  wore  a  faded  brown 
coat,  which  was  tightly  buttoned  about  his  chest 
to  keep  out  the  biting  wind.  An  old  weather- 
beaten  hat  was  pulled  down  on  his  head,  the 
brim  half  concealing  his  face.  His  shoes  were 
heavy  and  covered  with  mud.  His  companion 
was  a  short  man,  fashionably  clad,  with  a  silk 


HUMAN  AND  DEMOCRATIC  305 

hat  on  his  head.  The  two  men  were  earnestly 
talking,  and  one  giving  only  a  casual  glance  at 
the  couple  might  have  thought  that  the  larger, 
roughly  dressed  man  was  asking  the  other  for  a 
quarter  to  pay  for  a  night's  lodging.  The  con- 
versation continued  till  the  pair  came  in  sight  of 
the  White  House,  where  a  little  black  newsboy 
caught  sight  of  them.  His  face  lit  up  with  a 
smile  of  recognition. 

"  Hello ! "  he  was  heard  to  say  to  himself. 
"Marse  Teddy!" 

The  boy  was  about  the  only  person  who  had 
discovered  the  President  in  the  unconventional 
attire  that  he  had  put  on  for  a  long  walk  in  the 
country  with  his  Attorney-General. 

He  was  fond  of  the  theater ;  but  he  used  it  for 
relaxation  and  saw  the  light  comedies  and  comic 
operas  which  could  be  enjoyed  with  little  mental 
exertion.  When  he  was  present  at  such  a  per- 
formance in  the  early  winter  of  1905  a  little 
Boston  terrier  belonging  to  one  of  the  young 
women  in  the  chorus  found  its  way  to  the  stage, 
attracted  thither  by  the  lights.  The  dog  got  in 
front  of  the  line  of  dancing  and  singing  young 
women,  looked  about,  stretched,  and  yawned. 
Everybody  laughed,  including  Mr.  Roosevelt. 
The  dog  heard  the  President's  laugh  and  strolled 
over  toward  the  side  of  the  stage,  sat  down  and 
looked  at  the  man.  Mr.  Roosevelt  smiled  back 
at  the  dog.  In  a  second  or  two  he  gathered  him- 
self for  a  jump  and  leaped  over  the  side  of  the 
box  into  the  President's  lap  and  settled  down 
contentedly.  Mr.  Roosevelt  fondled  the  animal 
a  moment  and  then  lifted  him  back  to  the  stage 


306        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

to  the  accompaniment  of  wild  and  enthusiastic 
applause,  and  the  performance,  which  had  been 
interrupted  by  the  incident,  was  resumed ;  but  the 
audience  for  a  time  thought  more  of  the  instinc- 
tive confidence  with  which  the  dog  had  appealed 
to  the  President's  interest  than  of  the  play  on 
the  stage. 

That  laugh  and  smile  of  Theodore  Roosevelt 
were  famous  and  magnetic.  The  Evening  Sun, 
New  York,  once  said,  "  His  smile  has  almost  lit- 
erally beamed  around  the  world." 

The  Roosevelt  smile  meant  an  almost  boyish 
interest  in  things  and  disclosed  his  strong,  finely 
chiseled  teeth,  which  were  always  caricatured 
to  look  very  large  and  out  of  proportion. 

That  smile  was  always  the  precursor  of  friend- 
ship, and  no  man  in  public  life  ever  drew  more 
talented  men  around  him  than  did  Theodore 
Roosevelt.  His  power  and  magnetism  were  such 
that  a  majority  of  men  were  dominated  by  his 
ideas  and  were  anxious  to  serve  him  in  almost 
any  capacity. 

But  his  friendships  were  not  confined  to  politi- 
cal life.  Boys  and  girls,  presidents,  kings,  pugi- 
lists, big  game  hunters,  churchmen,  soldiers, 
sailors,  diplomats,  engineers,  ranchmen,  Texas 
rangers,  bankers,  politicians,  railroad  magnates, 
all  were  friends  of  the  former  President  at  one 
time  or  another,  and  all  who  were  worthy  of  his 
friendship  enjoyed  the  warmth  and  fullness  of 
his  generous  smile. 

But  his  laugh !  The  New  York  Herald  tried 
to  do  justice  to  it  as  follows : 

"Theodore    Roosevelt    possessed    one    trait, 


HUMAN  AND  DEMOCRATIC  307 

known  only  to  his  intimates  and  unnoticed  save 
by  a  few  of  those,  that  was  a  sure  index  of  his 
character.  He  had  a  magnificent  laugh.  Only 
those  who  have  studied  human  nature  closely 
know  how  truthfully  laughter  reflects  character. 
He  who  laughs  from  above  his  collar  button  does 
it  with  some  purpose ;  usually  to  conciliate  a  per- 
son on  whom  he  has  predatory  designs.  He 
whose  laughter  is  so  loud  and  frequent  as  to 
leave  permanent  indentations  on  his  cheeks  is 
one  whom  the  wise  mistrust  and  shun. 

"  No  dry,  nanny-goat  chuckle  ever  wrinkled 
the  face  of  Roosevelt.  He  did  not  need  to  force 
laughter  to  his  lips.  He  gave  way  to  it  because 
he  had  a  genuine  sense  of  humor,  easily  and 
naturally,  and  it  came  not  from  his  throat  but 
from  his  diaphragm,  as  does  that  of  all  honest 
men." 

Theodore  Roosevelt  was  bitterly  hated,  writes 
xMr.  Charles  Willis  Thompson  in  the  New  York 
Times,  but  "  the  people  who  hated  him  hadn't 
met  him.  He  was  accused  of  insincerity,  but 
never  by  people  who  knew  him.  He  was  accused 
of  optimism  —  by  people  who  didn't  know  him. 
There  were  many  who  believed  his  course  was 
always  dictated  by  a  desire  to  obtain  votes,  but 
such  people  were  not  acquainted  with  him." 

Newspaper  reporters  always  declared  that  to 
know  Roosevelt  was  to  love  him.     Even  the  rep- 
resentatives   of    strong    anti-Roosevelt    organs 
were    swayed    by    his    captivating    personality/^] 
There   was   a  mystic  magic  in  his   rip-roaringT^ 
manly  nature  that  won  all  hearts  to  him,  and  as 
his  companion  on  many  campaigns,  Mr.  Thomp- 


308        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

son  tells  incidents  in  proof  of  the  Colonel's  sin- 
cerity, bravery,  and  loyalty: 

He  was  called,  by  some  people,  a  poseur,  but 
he  was  a  poseur  in  the  same  sense  that  Tom 
Sawyer  was.  That  is,  dramatic  scenery  appealed 
to  what  Mark  Twain  called  "  the  circus  side  of 
my  nature."  The  people  who  didn't  know  him 
and  who  hated  him  were,  when  of  the  male  sex, 
persons  of  a  feminine  cast,  to  whom  the  rip-roar- 
ing masculinity  of  Roosevelt  was  a  continuing1 
shock.  Very  few  women  hated  him.  If  that 
seems  a  paradox,  it  isn't.  Well,  a  personality 
that  is  so  rip-roaring  masculine  simply  has  to 
have  a  circus  side  to  it. 

There  is  a  picture  before  my  eyes  of  a  scene 
out  at  a  lonely  jerkwater  station  in  Arizona. 
The  Colonel's  special  train  had  stopped  there  so 
that  a  few  of  the  Rough  Riders  could  come  to  it 
from  their  ranches  and  shake  hands  with  their 
old  commander.  It  was  at  the  height  of  a  great 
campaign,  and  the  itinerary  had  been  planned  in 
Washington ;  but  no  matter,  the  train  had  got 
to  stop  there.  The  Rough  Riders  rode,  some  of 
them  forty  miles,  to  shake  hands  with  him,  and 
they  were  all  waiting  on  the  plank  in  front  of 
the  hut  that  served  as  a  station  when  the  special 
puffed  itself  to  a  stop.  Aside  from  the  station 
agent  and  the  Rough  Riders  there  was  not  an- 
other human  being  in  sight,  nor  the  faintest  hint 
of  a  town  or  village  in  the  clear,  sun-dried  Ari- 
zona landscape. 

The  moving-picture  man  —  whom  the  Colonel 
had  christened  "  Movie,"  and  also  "  Dare  Devil 
Dick,"  his  name  being  Richard  J.  Cummins  — 


HUMAN  AND  DEMOCRATIC  309 

saw  a  great  opportunity  and  yelled  to  the  Colonel. 
The  Colonel  promptly  took  off  his  enormous 
black  hat,  arranged  the  astonished  Rough  Riders 
in  appropriate  attitude,  and  then,  with  his  arm 
around  an  Arizona  shoulder,  began  talking. 
"  Throw  a  little  ginger  in,  Colonel,"  shouted 
"  Movie,"  and  the  Colonel  began  throwing  in  all 
his  appropriate  gestures,  while  "  Movie  "  stood 
there  grinding  the  crank.  The  picture  must 
have  indicated  to  those  who  saw  it  subsequently 
that  the  Colonel  was  recalling  the  brave  days  of 
'98  to  his  fellow  veterans,  but  this  is  what  he 
was  saying: 

"  Barnes,  Penrose,  and  Smoot  —  do  you  re- 
member that  charge  up  San  Juan  ?  —  an  initiative 
and  referendum  —  recall  of  judicial  decisions  — 
Jack  Greenway,  one  of  the  best  in  the  regiment  — 
Bob  Evans  took  the  fleet  into  the  Pacific  — " 

All  this  to  the  most  furious  gesticulation,  any 
nonsense  that  came  into  his  head,  talked  at  the 
rate  of  sixty  miles  a  minute.  The  Rough  Riders 
had  nothing  to  do  but  pretend  to  look  impressed, 
and  did  it  badly,  the  more  so  as  we  reporters 
were  laughing  ourselves  sick  behind  the  camera. 

"  That'll  be  a  corker,  Colonel,"  said  '  Movie ' 
stopping  the  crank;  and  the  Colonel,  released 
from  duty,  joined  the  rest  of  us  in  our  roars  of 
laughter.  '  By  George ! '  he  said,  mopping  his 
brow,  '  I  haven't  had  so  much  fun  in  a  week.  If 
that  is  posing,  make  the  most  of  it.'  " 

He  was  not  a  vote-hunter,  except  as  every  man 
in  politics  must  be.  He  never  compromised  a 
conviction  for  a  vote.  He  always  made  it  a 
point  to  denounce  to  his  face  anything  he  did  not 


310        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

approve  of.  If,  for  instance,  he  had  been  a  free- 
trader he  would  not  have  denounced  protection 
until  he  could  denounce  it  in  Pittsburg.  In  that 
sense  he  was  less  of  a  demagogue  than  any  other 
man  I  ever  met  in  politics. 

On  his  swing  around  the  country  in  1912  he 
never  said  more  than  a  perfunctory  word  against 
the  Democratic  party  until  he  got  into  the  South, 
its  home,  where  it  is  not  only  wicked  but  anti- 
social to  speak  against  the  Democratic  party. 
His  most  blazing  denunciations  of  pacifism  in  his 
great  tour  in  1916  were  reserved  for  Henry 
Ford's  home,  Detroit,  where,  whatever  may  be  the 
case  in  other  parts  of  Michigan,  the  population 
is  excessively  pro-Ford. 

It  was  the  same  on  his  trip  abroad  —  not  that 
that  has  anything  to  do  with  vote  getting;  it 
was  in  France  that  he  denounced  race  suicide  and 
in  England  that  he  assailed  England's  Egyptian 
policy.  Always  -he  picked  out  sin's  home  town 
to  lambaste  sin.  These  are  not  the  methods  of  a 
mere  vote-getter.  In  fact,  his  going  into  the 
South  at  all  in  1912  was  quixotism;  he  knew  he 
could  not  get  an  electoral  vote  there,  and  the 
whole  Progressive  campaign  depended  on  his 
voice  reaching  as  many  vulnerable  spots  as  could 
be  found.  Yet  he  side-tracked  himself  into  the 
South,  for  he  dreamed  that  he  could  break  up 
the  one-party  system  there  and  relieve  the  South 
of  an  incubus;  not  in  one  campaign,  of  course, 
"  but,"  he  said,  "  I  have  drawn  the  furrow,  and 
it  won't  be  necessary  to  go  over  that  furrow 
again." 

When  the  convention  of   1916  was  drawing 


HUMAN  AND  DEMOCRATIC  3" 

near,  I  asked  him  if  he  thought  he  had  a  chance 
of  the  nomination.  "  Not  the  least  in  the  world," 
he  said.  "  If  I  had,  I  killed  it  by  my  tour  of  the 
West  advocating  preparedness  and  Americanism. 
Those  issues  will  be  taken  up ;  but  when  it  comes 
to  making  nominations,  a  convention  will  always 
pass  over  the  pioneer,  because  he  has  made  too 
many  enemies  by  his  pioneering.  I've  been  the 
pioneer ;  I  have  forced  those  issues  to  the  front ; 
and  the  convention  will  adopt  them  and  then 
nominate  somebody  else  who  is  safer.  It's  the 
invariable  rule  in  politics."  And,  of  course,  he 
knew  that  invariable  rule  when  he  made  his  tour  j 
but  it  didn't  stop  him;  or  weigh  with  him  for  an 
instant. 

No  man  could  meet  Roosevelt  and  go  on  hat- 
ing him ;  that  is,  of  course,  unless  he  met  him  in  a 
fight.  At  the  Barnes-Roosevelt  libel  trial  in 
Syracuse  I  came  across  James  J.  Montague,  a 
hardened  reporter  on  a  highly  anti-Roosevelt 
newspaper,  walking  up  and  down  and  cursing.  I 
asked  him  what  moved  him  to  these  expletives. 
"  Roosevelt,  damn  him,"  said  Montague ;  "  I 
can't  keep  hating  him  if  I  get  anywhere  within 
twenty  feet  of  him,  and  I'm  always  accidentally 
doing  it.  He's  spoiling  my  story." 

The  Colonel  never  won  over  any  antagonist  by 
blandishment.  He  was  often  said  to  have 
"  used  "  the  reporters,  especially  the  Washington 
correspondents.  Well,  if  he  used  them  it  was 
by  an  old  magic  with  no  black  art  in  it.  He 
never  flattered  or  palavered  or  went  out  of  his 
way.  I  knew  him  very  well  for  many  years,  and 
he  was  always  the  same  to  everybody.  I  saw  the 


312        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

magic  in  his  actions;  it  was  the  magic  that  can 
only  be  conjured  by  a  large,  joyous,  and  gen- 
erous soul  with  real  manliness  at  the  back  of  it. 
And  something  else,  which  I  can  best  express 
by  saying  that  no  man  who  knew  Roosevelt  would 
have  been  willing  to  let  the  Colonel  know  that 
he  had  done  something  mean  or  dirty. 

But  no  man  could  use  that  magic  as  Roose- 
velt could,  says  Mr.  Thompson  in  conclusion. 
Men  loved  to  be  put  under  that  spell ;  and  there 
will  be  many  sore  hearts  for  the  lack  of  it  now. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

THE   HERO  OF   MANY  A   GOOD  STORY 

PROBABLY  the  most  picturesque  man  in  pub- 
lic life  in  the  last  half-century,  remarks  the  Chi- 
cago Daily  News,  Theodore  Roosevelt  figured 
largely  in  anecdotes  of  adventure  and  otherwise, 
wherever  men  gathered  to  swap  stories.  Many 
of  the  stories  associated  with  his  name  may  be 
groundless,  but  scores  of  them  are  undoubtedly 
founded  on  fact.  It  is  around  men  of  his  posi- 
tive, virile,  aggressive  personality  that  traditions 
group  themselves.  From  many  sources,  includ- 
ing personal  friends  of  Mr.  Roosevelt  as  well  as 
newspapers  and  magazines,  the  anecdotes  in  this 
•chapter  have  been  gathered.  Not  only  are  they 
•entertaining  in  themselves,  but  they  shed  many 
side  lights  on  the  character  of  this  great  Amer- 
ican. 


ANECDOTE  AND  ADVENTURE  313 

A  friendship  of  close  intimacy  existed  be- 
tween Mr.  Roosevelt  and  the  famous  African 
hunter  and  pathbreaker,  Frederick  Courtenay 
Selous,  D.  S.  O.,  Captain  of  the  25th  Royal 
Fusiliers,  who  was  killed  in  action  January  4th, 
1917.  When  President  Roosevelt  planned  his 
long  hunting  trip  in  Africa  in  1908,  he  wrote  to 
Selous  asking  his  expert  advice  and  help.  The 
assistance  he  thus  received  was  a  very  large  fac- 
tor in  the  success  of  the  trip. 

For  several  years  an  interesting  correspond- 
ence was  maintained  between  these  two  kindred 
spirits,  and  the  letters  were  of  the  real  heart-to- 
heart  character  which  make  charming  reading. 
Many  of  them  have  just  been  published  in  the 
life  of  Selous,  by  J.  G.  Milais,  F.  Z.  S.,  (Long- 
mans, Green  and  Co.).  Here  is  one  extract 
from  a  letter  written  by  Mr.  Roosevelt  in  reply 
to  one  from  Mr.  Selous  expressing  concern  when 
the  President  was  attacked  and  wounded  by  the 
would-be  assassin  in  Milwaukee  in  1912 : 

"  My  dear  Selous,  I  could  not  help  being  a  little 
amused  by  your  statement  that  my  '  magnificent 
behavior,  splendid  pluck  and  great  constitutional 
strength  have  made  a  great  impression.'  Come, 
come,  old  elephant-hunter  and  lion-hunter! 
Down  at  the  bottom  of  your  heart  you  must  have 
a  better  perspective  of  my  behavior  after  being 
shot.  Modern  civilization,  indeed,  I  suppose  all 
civilization  is  rather  soft;  and  I  suppose  the 
average  political  orator,  or  indeed  the  average 
sedentary  broker  or  banker  or  business-man  or 
professional  man,  especially  if  elderly,  is  much 
overcome  by  being  shot  or  meeting  with  some 


314        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

other  similar  accident,  and  feels  very  sorry  for 
himself  and  thinks  he  has  met  with  an  unpar- 
alleled misfortune;  but  the  average  soldier  or 
sailor  in  a  campaign  or  battle,  even  the  average 
miner  or  deep-sea  fisherman  or  fireman  or  police- 
man, and  of  course  the  average  hunter  of  danger- 
ous game,  would  treat  both  my  accident  and  my 
behavior  after  the  accident  as  entirely  matter  of 
course.  It  was  nothing  like  as  nerve-shattering 
as  your  experience  with  the  elephant  that  nearly 
got  you,  or  as  your  experience  with  more  than 
one  lion  and  more  than  one  buffalo.  The  injury 
itself  was  not  as  serious  as  your  injury  the  time 
that  old  four-bore  gun  was  loaded  twice  over 
by  mistake ;  and  as  other  injuries  you  received 
in  the  hunting-field." 

"  Mr.  Roosevelt's  creed?  "  wrote  Jacob  Riis,  his 
close  friend  for  years  in  police  work  in  New 
York.  "  Find  it  in  a  speech  he  made  to  the  Bible 
Society  a  year  ago.  '  If  we  read  the  book  aright,' 
he  said,  '  we  read  a  book  that  teaches  us  to  go 
forth  and  do  the  work  of  the  Lord  in  the  world 
as  we  find  it;  to  try  to  make  things  better  in 
the  world,  even  if  only  a  little  better,  because  we 
have  lived  in  it.  That  kind  of  work  can  not  be 
done  except  by  a  man  who  is  neither  a  weakling 
nor  a  coward ;  by  a  man  who,  in  the  fullest  sense 
of  the  word,  is  a  true  Christian,  like  Greatheart, 
Bunyan's  hero." 

"  Better  faithful  than  famous,"  used  to  be 
one  of  his  characteristic  sayings,  wrote  Jacob 
Riis  in  his  life  of  the  former  President.  "  It 
has  been  his  rule  all  his  life.  A  classmate  of 
Roosevelt  told  me  recently  of  being  present  at 


ANECDOTE  AND  ADVENTURE  315 

a  Harvard  reunion  when  a  professor  told  of  ask- 
ing a  graduate  what  would  be  his  work  in  life. 

" '  Oh,'  he  said,  '  really,  you  know,  nothing 
seems  to  me  much  worth  while.'  Roosevelt  got 
up  and  said  to  the  professor: 

"  '  That  fellow  ought  to  have  been  knocked  on 
the  head.  I  would  take  my  chances  with  a 
blackmailing  policeman  sooner  than  with  him.' " 

Newspaper  men  tell  countless  stories  of  Roose- 
velt's courtesy  and  approachability.  No  matter 
how  busily  engaged  in  his  various  offices,  he  was 
always  visible  to  reporters  sent  to  get  his  views 
on  current  topics,  and  representatives  of  enemy 
journals  were  treated  as  affably  as  friends.  This 
admirable  trait  did  not  leave  him  in  the  White 
House.  During  his  Presidency,  the  New  York 
Sun  chronicles,  Roosevelt  was  democratic  in  his 
relations  with  not  only  men  who  had  ideas  to 
give  him,  but  with  those  who  were  of  service 
to  him  in  living  the  strenuous  life.  For  in- 
stance : 

Mike  Donovan  at  the  White  House  boxed  with 
him,  and  a  jiu-jitsu  artist  taught  the  President 
the  secrets  of  that  science.  In  explaining  why 
he  had,  "  as  a  practical  man  of  high  ideals,  who 
had  always  endeavored  to  put  his  ideals  in  prac- 
tice," conferred  with  Mr.  Harriman,  the  rail- 
road magnate,  and  Mr.  Archbold,  of  the  Stand- 
ard Oil  Company,  the  former  President  made 
these  assertions: 

"  I  have  always  acted,  and  shall  always  act, 
upon  the  theory  that  if,  while  in  public  office, 
there  is  any  man  from  whom  I  think  I  can  gain 
anything  of  value  to  the  Government,  I  will  send 


3i6        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

for  him  and  talk  it  over  with  him,  no  matter 
how  widely  I  differ  from  him  on  other  points. 

"  I  actually  sent  for,  while  I  was  President, 
trust  magnates,  labor  leaders,  Socialists,  John  L. 
Sullivan,  '  Battling  Nelson,'  Dr.  Lyman  Abbott. 
I  could  go  on  indefinitely  with  a  list  of  people 
whom  at  various  times  I  have  seen  or  sent  for. 
And  if  I  am  elected  President  again  I  shall  con- 
tinue exactly  the  same  course  of  conduct,  with- 
out the  deviation  of  a  hair's  breadth.  And  if 
ever  I  find  that  my  virtue  is  so  frail  that  it  won't 
stand  being  brought  into  contact  with  either  trust 
magnates,  or  a  Socialist,  or  a  labor  leader,  I  will 
get  out  of  public  life." 


Many  of  the  reverend  senators  and  statesmen 
in  Washington  were  shocked,  says  the  New  York 
Herald,  by  the  way  in  which  such  successors  of 
"  Leatherstocking  "  as  Jack  Abernathy  and  Bill 
Sewall  came  up  to  the  White  House  and  got  the 
President's  ear  for  hours  at  a  time.  Often,  also, 
they  were  taken  quite  by  surprise  by  the  Presi- 
dent's quick  sense  of  humor  and  keen  repartee. 
Before  Senator  Hoar  had  come  to  know  Mr. 
Roosevelt  as  he  afterwards  did  he  went  to  the 
White  House  to  remonstrate  with  him  for  ap- 
pointing Ben  Daniels  Marshal  of  Arizona.  Mr. 
Hoar  was  one  of  the  most  dignified  and  sedate 
men  in  the  Senate  —  a  New  England  Brahmin. 

"  Mr.  President,"  said  Mr.  Hoar  in  horrified 
accents,  "  do  you  know  anything  about  the  char- 
acter of  this  man  Daniels  whom  you  have  ap- 
pointed to  be  Marshal  of  Arizona  ?  " 


ANECDOTE  AND  ADVENTURE  317 

"  Why,  yes,  I  think  so,"  said  Mr.  Roosevelt ; 
"  he  was  a  member  of  my  regiment." 

"  Do  you  know,"  said  Mr.  Hoar,  impressively, 
"  that  he  has  killed  three  men?  " 

The  President  was  scandalized.  "You  don't 
mean  it,"  he  said. 

"  It  is  a  fact,"  said  Mr.  Hoar,  with  deadly  de- 
termination. 

The  President  was  thoroughly  indignant.  He 
pounded  his  fist  on  the  table.  "  When  I  get  hold 
of  Daniels,"  he  said,  "  I  will  read  him  the  riot 
act.  He  told  me  he'd  only  killed  two." 

The  whole  family  was  devoted  to  out-of-door 
life.  The  White  House  stables  contained  ex- 
cellent riding  horses.  There  was  a  horse  or  pony 
for  every  member  of  the  family.  There  were 
two  mounts  for  the  President,  one  being  Rusty, 
a  bay  heavyweight  hunter,  on  which  the  Presi- 
dent frequently  jumped  fences  in  the  country  to 
remind  him  of  the  time  when  he  once  rode  to 
hounds  on  Long  Island. 

Because  of  the  President's  example,  there  was 
probably  more  good,  healthful  exercise  taken  in 
Washington  during  his  Administration  than  has 
been  known  there  before  and  since.  Americans 
are  not  generally  credited  with  being  anemic,  but 
the  official  and  social  duties  of  the  capital  never 
before  were  so  crowded  in  between  sets  of  ten- 
nis, riding,  and  boxing  set-tos. 

His  walking  contests  the  President  held  not 
only  with  his  boys  and  other  members  of  his 
family,  but  with  Cabinet  officers  and  foreign 
diplomats.  Capitals  of  Europe  were  sometimes 
highly  entertained  by  accounts  of  their  repre- 


318        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

sentatives  following  the  President,  who  had  in- 
vited them  for  afternoon  walks,  across  fences, 
ditches,  and  through  mud  ankle  deep.  Pouring 
rain  never  prevented  the  President  from  his 
walk  with  members  of  the  foreign  embassy,  and 
he  was  always  delighted  with  credit  given  him 
for  inaugurating  the  strenuous  life  in  Washing- 
ton. 

The  President  took  a  dignitary  out  with  him 
for  a  stroll  one  afternoon,  and  in  the  course  of 
the  walk  sighted  a  steep  and  rocky  knoll,  toward 
which  he  directed  his  course.  He  turned  to  his 
companion  and  observed  as  they  began  making 
the  ascent,  "  We  must  get  up  to  the  top  here," 
and  after  much  panting  and  laboring  the  feat 
was  accomplished. 

"  And  now,  Mr.  President,"  asked  the  official, 
"  may  I  ask  why  we  are  up  here?  " 

"  Why,  I  came  up  here,"  returned  Roosevelt, 
laughing,  "  to  see  if  you  could  make  it." 

On  another  occasion,  says  the  Washington 
correspondent  of  the  New  York  Tribune,  the 
President  was  out  driving  through  Rock  Creek 
Park  with  a  member  of  the  diplomatic  corps,  the 
representative  of  a  powerful  nation.  Halfway 
through  the  park,  the  Colonel  invited  his  guest 
to  accompany  him  in  a  walk.  He  directed  the 
White  House  coachman  to  meet  them  at  a  point 
further  on,  and,  striking  out  in  cross-country 
fashion,  he  set  the  pace.  On  and  on  he  plunged 
through  the  woods,  the  panting  diplomat  trying 
to  keep  pace.  Suddenly  the  two,  with  the  secret 
service  men  behind,  came  upon  a  twenty-foot 
stream.  The  horrified  ambassador  saw  the  Presi- 


ANECDOTE  AND  ADVENTURE  319 

dent  stride  straight  on  into  the  stream,  waist-high, 
and  go  on  to  the  opposite  bank.  For  a  moment 
the  once-dignified,  but  now  perspiring  diplomat 
hesitated,  and  then  grimly  followed  the  Presi- 
dent's example. 

When  Theodore  Roosevelt  was  governor  of 
New  York,  says  J.  W.  Welch,  who  tells  the 
story,  a  newspaper  reporter  called  on  him,  at 
Oyster  Bay,  to  secure  an  interview  on  a  subject 
that  verged  close  to  the  political  territory  on 
which  no  interviewer  was  allowed  to  tread.  The 
reporter  seriously  doubted  the  success  of  his  mis- 
sion, and  his  doubts  were  strengthened  by  the 
stories  of  the  man  who  drove  him  from  the  rail- 
road station  to  Mr.  Roosevelt's  house, —  stories 
of  the  abrupt  and  emphatic  way  that  the  governor 
had  of  declining  to  parley  with  visitors  on  sub- 
jects that  he  had  tabooed. 

"  He  most  always  steams  out  to  the  porch  to 
see  'em,"  remarked  the  driver,  "  but  before  they 
have  had  a  chance  to  say  six  words  he  had 
grabbed  their  hands  in  good-by  shakes.  Yes,  he 
shakes  'em  right  back  into  my  wagon,  and  we 
are  well  out  of  the  grounds  before  they  catch 
their  breath  again." 

This  being  Mr.  Roosevelt's  method,  it  seemed 
advisable  to  the  reporter  to  keep  the  burning 
question  in  his  mind  well  in  the  background  dur- 
ing the  shock  of  the  first  contact.  The  governor 
rushed  out  to  the  porch,  just  as  the  driver  said 
he  would,  and  his  strong  right  arm  was  already 
exerting  an  influence  back  toward  the  carriage 
when  the  question  which  had  been  decided  upon 


320       ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

as  a  diplomatic  approach  arrested  his  attention. 

"  Mr.  Roosevelt,  I  would  like  very  much  to 
get  a  brief  statement  from  you  as  to  the  im- 
portance of  the  young  men  of  the  country  giving 
more  attention  to  politics  and  the  affairs  of  state. 
If  they  should,  wouldn't  conditions  be  im- 
proved." 

The  motion  of  the  handshake  was  suddenly 
shifted  from  the  direction  of  the  wagon  toward 
the  library.  When  they  were  inside  Mr.  Roose- 
velt talked  warmly  on  the  duties  of  an  American 
citizen  and  the  importance  of  strenuousness  in 
young  men.  "  If  I  have  a  hard  task  to  per- 
form," he  said,  "  I  gather  an  impetus  from  its 
difficulties.  There  is  very  little  merit  or  satis- 
faction in  doing  easy  "things." 

"  The  interviewer  of  public  men  sometimes 
has  great  obstacles  to  surmount,"  remarked  the 
reporter,  casually. 

"  I  know  he  has,  I  know  he  has,"  replied  Mr. 
Roosevelt,  earnestly ;  "  but  if  I  were  in  his  posi- 
tion, I  would  plunge  in  and  surmount  them 
somehow." 

"  All  right,  Mr.  Roosevelt,  I  am  going  to  apply 
your  advice  right  here.  I  am  going  to  plunge 
in.  My  managing  editor  expects  me  to  get  an 
expression  of  opinion  from  you  on  the mat- 
ter. I  am  very  anxious  to  get  it.  Now  I  have 
plunged  in.  I  wonder  if  your  advice  is  good." 

Mr.  Roosevelt  laughed  heartily,  and  then  said, 
in  his  most  abrupt  manner: 

"Take  down  what  I  say,  and  see  that  not 
a  word  or  punctuation  mark  is  different  when 
it  is  put  in  print." 


ANECDOTE  AND  ADVENTURE  321 

Arthur  W.  Dunn  has  told  some  of  the  inci- 
dents which  give  the  humorous  side  of  Roose- 
velt's daily  life  in  the  White  House.  Here  are 
a  few  of  them : 

Theodore  Roosevelt  was  the  youngest  man 
that  ever  held  the  office  of  President,  and  it  was 
on  account  of  his  youth  that  many  people  felt 
that  they  should  be  generous  with  him  in  the 
matter  of  advice.  During  the  early  months  of 
his  administration  every  person  who  called  on 
him  told  him  what  he  should  do  and  filled  him 
full  of  suggestions. 

"  How  do  you  like  being  President  ? "  asked 
an  old  acquaintance,  after  Mr.  Roosevelt  had 
been  in  the  White  House  about  a  year. 

"  It  would  be  first  rate  if  it  did  not  carry  with 
it  the  necessity  of  listening  to  advice  as  to  how 
the  Government  should  be  conducted,"  he  replied. 
"  So  far  during  my  term,  I  have  received  noth- 
ing but  advice, —  mostly  bad." 

One  of  the  grave  and  dignified  senators 
came  out  of  the  White  House  one  day  and 
remarked : 

"  That  youngster  doesn't  always  do  what  I 
want,  or  do  things  as  I  do  them,  but  I  can't  help 
liking  him." 

"  Did  you  see  the  President  ?  "  asked  one  lady 
of  another  who  had  just  stated  that  she  had 
been  to  the  White  House. 

"  I  certainly  did,"  was  the  reply,  "  and  I  was 
such  a  fool !  " 

"  In  what  way  ?  " 

"Why,  I  wanted  to  tell  him  a  number  of 
things,  and  especially  to  speak  about  my  brother, 


322        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

whom  he  knows  very  well,  but  I  didn't  say  a 
word." 

"  What  was  the  matter?  " 

"  Why,  as  soon  as  he  shook  hands  and  smiled, 
I  saw  that  row  of  teeth  and  became  fascinated 
with  them.  So  I  stared  and  stared  and  never 
said  a  word.  He  must  have  thought  I  was  an 
idiot,  because  he  didn't  know  that  I  have  a  great 
admiration  for  nice  teeth  in  a  man." 

While  he  was  Vice-President,  Mr.  Roosevelt 
joined  a  Masonic  Lodge  at  Oyster  Bay,  and 
after  he  became  President  quite  a  pressure  was 
brought  upon  him  to  continue  taking  degrees, 
and  become  one  of  the  higher  devotees  of  the 
order. 

"  Don't  you  think,"  he  asked  a  body  of  Ma- 
sons who  had  waited  upon  him,  "  that  with  the 
various  matters  now  pending  it  would  be  better 
for  me  not  to  add  goat-riding  to  my  other 
duties  ?  " 

One  busy  day  a  clergyman  called  at  the 
White  House  and  expressed  a  wish  to  see  the 
President.  The  doorkeeper,  to  whom  he  ad- 
dressed himself,  took  his  name  and  asked  him 
to  sit  down  and  wait.  In  the  reception  room 
were  perhaps  fifty  other  citizens  awaiting  the 
termination  of  various  errands ;  while  probably 
as  many  more,  of  higher  degree,  were  cultivat- 
ing patience  in  an  inner  room.  After  pac- 
ing thoughtfully  to  and  fro  for  a  few  minutes, 
the  clergyman  again  made  known  his  request, 
and,  upon  receiving  a  repetition,  in  substance, 
of  the  previous  reply,  resumed  his  walk.  In 


ANECDOTE  AND  ADVENTURE  323 

a  few  moments  he  returned  to  the  doorkeeper. 

"  See  here !  "  he  said.  "  At  home  I  have  a 
very  large  congregation,  any  member  of  which 
can  reach  me  any  minute  of  the  day  or  night 
without  being  kept  waiting.  In  addition  to  my 
own  flock,  as  I  have  lived  in  the  community  many 
years,  nearly  the  entire  population  is  accustomed 
to  turn  to  me  for  advice  and  help.  I  am  accessi- 
ble to  them  all,  at  all  times.  Now  it  seems 
strange  to  me  that  the  President  can't  see  me 
without  all  this  delay." 

"  How  many  does  your  congregation  num- 
ber?" asked  the  doorkeeper. 

"  Well,  my  own  congregation  is  about  six  hun- 
dred. But,  counting  all  of  those  with  whom  I 
have  to  deal,  I  should  say  it  is  not  less  than  five 
thousand.  I  never  keep  any  of  them  waiting, 
sir." 

"  Five  thousand ! "  said  the  doorkeeper. 
"  Huh !  How  large  a  congregation  do  you  think 
the  President  of  the  United  States  has  ?  He  has 
eighty  millions,  sir.  Eighty  millions!  Do  you 
suppose  he  can  see  every  one  of  them,  whenever 
they  come  ?  " 

A  New  York  business  man  who  was  once  a 
ranchman  in  the  West  tells  this  story  about  Presi- 
dent Roosevelt: 

"  Several  cowboys,  of  whom  I  was  one,  were 
camping  near  the  trail,  out  on  the  plains  of 
North  Dakota,  one  day  in  the  early  eighties, 
when  we  saw  a  man  coming  along  on  horseback. 
We  did  not  know  him,  but  from  his  new  and 
elaborate  trappings,  we  at  once  decided  that  he 
was  a  tenderfoot.  This  being  the  case,  we  felt 


324        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

that  it  would  be  appropriate  and  interesting  to 
give  him  a  cowboy  reception. 

"  Partly  hidden  among  the  bushes,  we  waited 
his  coming.  Suddenly,  when  he  was  almost 
among  us  on  the  trail,  we  sprang  to  our  feet  and 
gave  vent  to  wild  and  blood-curdling  yells,  at 
the  same  time  emptying  our  six-shooters.  The 
bullets  flew  all  around  the  young  man  on  the 
horse.  Being  rather  careless  as  to  where  we 
shot,  in  those  days,  it  was  a  wonder  that  at  least 
the  horse  was  not  hit.  The  ordinary  tenderfoot 
would  have  ridden  for  his  life  out  of  range.  But 
this  one  sat  straight  as  an  arrow  and  never 
changed  his  half-amused  expression  during  the 
fusillade  of  yells  and  bullets.  More  than  this, 
he  held  his  horse  down  to  a  walk,  and,  when 
he  had  got  a  few  paces  beyond  us,  he  turned 
in  his  saddle  and  made  us  a  low,  sarcastic  bow. 
We  had  no  idea  who  he  was,  but  we  at  once 
decided  that  this  particular  tenderfoot  was  all 
right.  The  next  day,  at  a  round-up,  I  saw  him 
in  the  corral  roping  calves, —  a  dangerous  pas- 
time for  any  but  an  old  hand. 

" '  Who's  that  chap  with  the  get-up  of  a  stage 
cowboy,  but  the  nerve  of  a  real  article? '  I  asked. 

"  '  Why,'  somebody  answered,  '  that's  young 
Roosevelt,  a  New  York  swell,  fresh  from  col- 
lege.' 

" '  Well,'  I  replied,  '  even  with  them  things 
against  him,  I  reckon  he's  about  as  good  as  any- 
body in  the  outfit.' " 

At  Oyster  Bay,  Long  Island,  near  which  vil- 
lage was  the  Roosevelt  summer  home,  there  lives 


ANECDOTE  AND  ADVENTURE  325 

a  venerable  hackman,  Jacob  White,  who  for 
many  years  basked  in  the  warm  friendship  of  the 
President.  Long  before  the  latter  was  known 
to  fame,  he  and  Jacob  White  were  companions. 
Old  Jacob  tells  stories  of  the  summers  when  he 
used  to  see  Theodore  and  the  boys  running  down 
through  the  meadows  to  the  swimming  hole,  en- 
cumbered with  no  superfluous  raiment;  of  the 
times  when  he  would  meet  them  on  the  road 
coming  home  from  nutting  and  would  give  them 
all  a  lift  in  his  wagon,  except  when  he  had  a  load. 
On  these  occasions  he  would  have  to  switch  them 
off.  Jacob  delights  to  talk  of  the  President  and 
of  the  pilgrims  he  has  driven  up  Sagamore  Hill. 

"  I  druv  up  a  couple  o'  big  politicians  awhile 
ago,"  he  once  remarked  reminiscently.  "  They 
hed  an  appointment  with  the  President,  of  course, 
and  from  their  talk  as  we  went  up  I  see  they  were 
calculatin'  on  spendin'  about  two  hours  with  him. 
This  bein'  the  case,  I  took  the  team  down  to  the 
stable  after  I  had  unloaded  the  politicians  on  the 
porch,  so's  I  could  loosen  up  their  harness  and 
water  'em. 

"  Well,  sir,  in  about  fifteen  minutes  them  states- 
men come  posting  out  again,  the  President  fol- 
lowin'.  They  all  looked  around  fur  me,  and  then 
spied  me  down  by  the  stable.  My  fares  stood 
there  waitin'  fur  me  to  come  back,  but  the  chief 
of  this  big  country  come  steaming  down  just  to 
shake  this  here  hand  and  say,  '  How  are  ye,  Ja- 
cob ? '  On  the  way  back  to  the  station  one  o'  the 
politicians  says  to  me:  'Jacob,  it  would  be 
worth  a  deal  to  us  to  have  your  pull  with  this 
administration.' 


326        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

"  Another  time  I  had  a  crowd  o'  sightseers  in 
my  wagon.  They  kept  sayin'  they  only  wisht 
they  could  see  the  President,  and  botherin'  me 
with  questions  as  to  whether  I  thought  they 
would  or  not.  I  told  'em  't  warn't  likely,  but  all 
of  a  sudden  a  man  on  horseback  come  galloping 
along  the  road.  'Twas  him.  He  slowed  up 
when  he  came  'longside  us,  and,  salutin',  calls 
out,  '  Good  morninV  It  set  them  people  all  in  a 
flutter,  and  they  began  to  figure  out  who  he  was 
bowin'  to.  One  man  begun  to  give  the  rest  the 
impression  that  it  was  him.  I  stood  this  fur 
about  a  minute,  and  then  spoke  up  an'  says : 
'  The  President  was  greetin'  me.  I'm  about  his 
best  friend  hereabouts.'  This  quieted  'em,  and 
'twarn't  no  lie,  nuther." 

Early  one  morning  a  woman  of  advanced  age 
sat  on  the  stairway  leading  to  President  Roose- 
velt's summer  executive  offices  at  Oyster  Bay. 
It  is  here  William  Loeb,  his  secretary,  and  other 
assistants  attended  to  the  routine  work  of  the 
administration.  The  President  himself  never  ap- 
peared in  the  little  building  on  the  main  street 
in  Oyster  Bay,  but  the  old  woman  thought  he 
did,  and  was  waiting  for  him.  She  was  the 
widow  of  an  officer  who  had  won  honor  in  the 
Civil  War,  and  she  had  journeyed  to  the  Presi- 
dent's home  town  to  consult  him  about  a  mat- 
ter connected  with  her  pension. 

For  hours  she  waited  patiently  on  the  stairs. 
When  some  one  finally  told  her  that  she  would 
never  see  the  President  there,  she  was  very  much 
discouraged.  She  continued  to  sit  on  the  stairs, 


ANECDOTE  AND  ADVENTURE  327 

saying  that  she  must  see  him,  and  perhaps  he 
would  "  just  run  in  for  a  minute."  The  Presi- 
dent himself  in  the  course  of  the  day,  heard  of 
this  patient  pilgrim  to  Oyster  Bay,  and  he  tele- 
phoned down  from  Sagamore  Hill  to  send  her  up 
to  the  house. 

He  helped  her  out  of  the  hack  himself,  remark- 
ing, "  Madam,  I  am  honored  and  delighted  to 
meet  you.  I  have  heard  of  your  husband.  He 
was  a  hero,  but  I  want  to  tell  you  what  I  think 
of  heroes.  I  don't  believe  a  man  can  be  one 
unless  he  has  a  good  wife." 

The  pension  matter  was  arranged  to  the  old 
lady's  satisfaction. 

I  can't  forbear  mentioning  Mr.  Roosevelt's 
souvenirs,  said  Robert  Lee  Dunn,  the  photog- 
rapher. They  represent  his  democracy  far  bet- 
ter than  reams  of  reminiscences  could.  Mr.  Mc- 
Kinley  once  had  three  carloads  of  such  tokens 
hitched  onto  his  special  train  but  Mr.  Roosevelt 
must  altogether  have  at  least  three  train  loads. 
He  cannot  stop  to  pat  a  dog  on  the  head  with- 
out that  animal  being  immediately  crated  up  by 
its  fond  owner  and  shipped  to  "  T.  R.  —  Wash- 
ington, D.  C."  Horses  and  saddles  enough  to  fit 
out  a  brigade,  chairs,  badges,  turkeys,  guinea 
pigs,  snakes  from  a  traveling  sideshow,  canes, 
vases  —  everything  that  the  generosity  of  the 
American  nation  can  conceive  has  been  given  to 
him  at  one  time  or  another. 

He  used  to  get  flowers  and  bouquets  by  the 
bushel  generally  presented  by  some  of  the  young 
ladies  of  the  town;  and  these  offerings  would 


328        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

finally  pile  up  to  such  an  extent  that  the  porter 
would  be  compelled  to  open  the  car  window  and 
throw  them  out  to  make  way  for  those  of  the 
next  town.  An  amusing  incident  in  this  connec- 
tion occurred  at  a  little  Kansas  town. 

The  Presidential  train  was  just  pulling  out  of 
the  depot,  when  through  the  crowd  came  a  bare- 
foot boy,  runing  with  all  his  might  and  carrying 
a  bouquet  in  his  hand.  He  yelled.  Roosevelt 
saw  him ;  so  did  the  whole  populace.  "  Well," 
said  the  President,  "  I  can't  run  away  like  this 
and  insult  the  boy,"  so  he  pulled  the  bellrope  and 
brought  the  train  to  a  stop. 

The  youngster  came  up  breathlessly  and  de- 
livered the  roses.  Roosevelt  smiled  and  handed 
him  a  dollar,  and  the  incident  was  closed.  Later, 
as  the  train  was  speeding  on  its  way,  his  "  dee- 
lighted  "  smile  was  a  bit  troubled,  and  he  called 
in  the  porter. 

"  Jerry,"  he  said,  "  it  seems  to  me  these  flowers 
are  rather  withered,  aren't  they  ?  That  boy  must 
have  had  a  hard  time  getting  through  the  crowd." 

"  Well,  they  ought  to  be  withered,"  was  the 
answer.  "  That  there  bouquet  has  been  on  the 
train  for  three  days,  and  I  just  threw  it  out  of 
the  window  back  at  that  town."  There  is  a 
boy  somewhere  in  Kansas  who  will  be  a  captain 
of  industry  one  of  these  days. 

"  I  have  a  suspicion,"  said  "  Buffalo  Jones," 
chief  game  warden  of  Yellowstone  Park,  "  that 
last  year  the  natural  beauties  of  the  park  fur- 
nished the  inspiration  for  the  working  out  of 
some  knotty  problems  of  state.  It  was  in  the 


ANECDOTE  AND  ADVENTURE  329 

spring  that  President  Roosevelt  visited  us.  The 
fishing  being  pretty  good  then,  he  would  start 
out  almost  every  morning  with  his  rod  and  line, 
and  be  gone  all  day.  We  wanted  to  accompany 
him,  of  course,  but  he  gave  us  to  understand  that 
he  preferred  to  be  alone.  Toward  the  end  of  his 
visit  he  ceased  to  take  the  fishing  tackle  with  him 
on  his  solitary  tramps.  I  have  an  idea  that  the 
fishing  was  merely  a  pretext  to  get  out  alone 
amid  the  noble  calm  and  impressiveness  of  the 
big  woods  and  hills  to  revolve  momentous  mat- 
ters in  his  mind. 

"  We  arranged  several  mountain  lion  hunts 
for  him,  but  he  always  declined  to  shoot  the  lion 
when  we  had  treed  it,  although  he  knew  that 
these  beasts  were  playing  havoc  with  the  sheep 
and  elk  and  that  the  Park  would  be  well  rid  of 
them.  The  first  time  I  asked  him  to  shoot  he 
said  that  he  wished  to  abide  by  the  law  which 
forbids  the  killing  of  animals  in  the  Park  except 
by  the  superintendent  or  the  scouts. 

"  In  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  President  was 
surrounded  by  big  game,  and  is  an  ardent  sports- 
man, the  only  shooting  he  did  while  with  us  was 
at  a  target.  One  morning  we  were  practicing 
pistol  shooting,  and  the  President  was  using  a 
weapon  of  a  make  which  was  being  urged  by  the 
manufacturers  for  adoption  by  the  government. 
While  making  one  of  his  shots  a  piece  of  cotton 
from  the  cartridge  flew  back  and  struck  his 
cheek,  bringing  blood. 

"  '  Well ! '  he  exclaimed,  with  great  emphasis, 
as  he  clapped  his  handkerchief  to  the  wound, 
'  that  condemns  this  make  of  pistol.' 


330        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

"  When  he  was  installed  in  his  tent,  upon  his 
arrival  at  the  park,  we  had  a  soldier  pacing  up 
and  down  before  the  door. 

"  '  What's  that  man  doing  out  there  ?  '  de- 
manded the  President. 

"  '  He's  the  sentry/  I  answered. 

" '  Oh,  go  and  tell  him  to  sit  down/  replied 
Mr.  Roosevelt ;  '  I  came  out  here  to  rest,  and  it 
makes  me  tired  to  see  a  man  walking  without 
getting  anywhere.' " 

At  the  Civil  Service  Commission  in  Washing- 
ton, where  it  will  be  remembered  President 
Roosevelt  began  his  public  career  as  one  of  the 
commissioners,  an  incident  is  related,  which 
shows  one  side  of  the  President's  character.  It 
came  to  his  knowledge  that  one  of  the  clerks  had 
lost  his  temper  and  used  profanity  over  the  tele- 
phone. He  sent  for  the  offender  at  once.  Sus- 
pecting the  purpose  of  the  message,  the  clerk  re- 
turned an  evasive  answer,  and  did  not  appear.  In 
his  emphatic  way,  Mr.  Roosevelt  directed  the 
messenger  to  bring  the  clerk  to  him.  The  mes- 
senger, a  huge  Virginian,  went  back  with  the 
words: 

"  Mr.  Roosevelt  says  you  got  to  come  down, 
and  if  you  won't  come  any  other  way,  I'll  tote 
you  down." 

This  time  the  order  was,  of  course,  obeyed. 
The  President  closed  the  door  of  the  office  when 
the  culprit  entered,  and  no  one  ever  knew  what 
passed  between  them;  but  it  was  noticed  that  the 
clerk  came  forth  from  the  interview  in  tears,  and 


ANECDOTE  AND  ADVENTURE  331 

there  was  no  further  complaint  about  the  impro- 
priety of  his  language. 

Mr.  Roosevelt  was  a  tireless  reader  of  books, 
and  on  his  long  railroad  trips  usually  carried  half 
a  dozen  volumes.  But  the  side-pocket  of  his 
traveling-coat  always  held  one  stoutly  bound, 
well-thumbed  book  —  a  copy  of  "  Plutarch's 
Lives."  On  campaign  tours  and  pleasure  jaunts 
he  took  a  daily  half-hour  dose  of  Plutarch. 

"  I've  read  this  little  volume  close  to  a  thou- 
sand times,"  he  said  one  day,  "  but  it  is  ever 
new." 

This  poem  by  Hamlin  Garland  was  one  of  his 
favorites  : 

"  O  wild  woods  and  rivers  and  untrod  sweeps  of  sod, 
I  exult  that  I  know  you, 
I  have  felt  you  and  worshiped  you, 
I  can  not  be  robbed  of  the  memory 
Of  horse  and  plain, 
Of  bird  and  flower 
Nor  the  song  of  the  illimitable  West  Wind." 

Soon  after  the  Roosevelts  took  up  their  resi- 
dence at  the  White  House  a  society  woman  asked 
one  of  the  younger  boys  if  he  did  not  dislike  the 
"  common  boys "  he  met  at  the  public  school. 
The  boy  looked  at  her  in  wonderment  for  a  mo- 
ment and  then  replied: 

"  My  papa  says  there  are  only  tall  boys  and 
short  boys  and  good  boys  and  bad  boys,  and  that's 
all  the  kind  of  boys  there  are." 

"  Theodore  Roosevelt  is  a  humorist,"  wrote 


332        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

Homer  Davenport  in  the  Philadelphia  Public 
Ledger,  October  23,  1910.  "  In  the  multitude  of 
his  strenuousness  this,  the  most  human  of  his  ac- 
complishments, has  apparently  been  overlooked. 
There  is  a  similarity  between  his  humor  and 
Mark  Twain's.  If  Colonel  Roosevelt  were  on 
the  vaudeville  stage  he  would  be  a  competitor  of 
Harry  Lauder.  At  Denver,  at  the  stock-growers' 
banquet  during  his  recent  Western  trip,  Colonel 
Roosevelt  was  at  his  best.  He  made  three 
speeches  that  day  and  was  eating  his  sixth  meal, 
yet  he  was  in  the  best  of  fettle.  You  couldn't 
pick  a  hallful  that  could  sit  with  faces  straight 
through  his  story  of  the  blue  roan  cow.  He  can 
make  a  joke  as  fascinating  as  he  can  the  story 
of  a  sunset  on  the  plains  of  Egypt." 

Theodore  Roosevelt,  as  Assistant  Secretary  of 
the  Navy,  was  instrumental  in  the  selection  of 
Dewey  to  take  charge  of  the  Pacific  squadron 
during  the  Spanish-American  War.  San  Fran- 
cisco and  a  few  other  cities  objected.  They  did 
not  know  Dewey.  A  delegation  was  sent  to 
Washington  to  kick  against  the  appointment. 
The  delegation  was  finally  turned  over  to  Roose- 
velt. He  listened  patiently  to  their  objections 
and  said : 

"  Gentlemen,  I  can't  agree  with  you.  We  have 
looked  up  his  record.  We  have  looked  him 
straight  in  the  eyes.  He  is  a  fighter.  We'll  not 
change  now.  Pleased  to  have  met  you.  Good- 
day,  gentlemen." 

While  a  strict  disciplinarian  in  his  home,  Mr. 


ANECDOTE  AND  ADVENTURE  333 

Roosevelt  mingled  comradeship  with  exercise  of 
authority  in  a  manner  that  made  a  successful 
father.  It  is  said  of  him  that  he  postponed  con- 
sideration of  important  affairs  of  state  to  "  play 
bear  "  with  his  children,  and  that  he  was  known  to 
excuse  himself  to  a  company  of  friends  who  were 
spending  the  evening  at  his  home  while  he  went 
upstairs  to  spank  one  of  the  children  who  had  dis- 
regarded repeated  admonitions  to  make  less 
noise.  He  was  a  chum  of  all  the  members  of  his 
household.  He  repeatedly  expressed  disapproval 
of  the  "  goody-goody  boy."  He  said  on  one  oc- 
casion : 

"  I  do  not  want  any  one  to  believe  that  my  little 
ones  are  brought  up  to  be  cowards  in  this  house. 
If  they  are  struck  they  are  not  taught  to  turn  the 
other  cheek.  I  haven't  any  use  for  weaklings. 
I  commend  gentleness  and  manliness.  I  want 
my  boys  to  be  strong  and  gentle.  For  all  my  chil- 
dren I  pray  they  may  be  healthy  and  natural." 

The  New  York  Tribune  is  authority  for  this 
little  glimpse  into  the  home  life  and  training  of 
the  Roosevelt  boys :  Being  boys,  they  were  in- 
variably hanging  around  the  kitchen  and  getting 
in  the  way  of  Annie  O'Rourke  who  was  cook  of 
the  household  and  monarch  of  all  she  surveyed. 
When  they  became  too  obstreperous,  she 
promptly  boxed  their  ears,  and  the  President  and 
Mrs.  Roosevelt  never  interfered.  On  the  other 
hand,  when  the  gardener,  in  desperation  over  the 
depredations  of  the  Roosevelt  boys,  complained 
to  the  President,  he  quietly  told  him  to  throw 
brick-bats  at  them. 


334        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

"  I  am  not  joking,"  he  is  reported  to  have  as- 
sured the  amazed  gardener.  "  Treat  'em  rough, 
if  they  won't  behave." 

Chauncey  M.  Depew  has  told  how  Mr.  Roose- 
velt first  went  into  politics :  "  With  his  talents 
he  could  have  gone  into  big  business  and  made 
a  fortune.  But,  left  a  small  income  from  a  trust 
fund,  he  preferred  to  fight  the  people's  battles, 
even  though  it  meant  that  all  his  life  long  he 
would  have  to  depend  upon  his  earning  power  to 
maintain  his  family. 

"  My  first  acquaintance  with  him  came  about 
forty  years  ago.  A  Republican  district  leader 
came  to  me  and  said : '  We  are  up  against  it  in  my 
district.  A  small  part  of  the  voters  are  "  high- 
brows "  living  along  Fifth  Avenue;  but  the 
greater  part  are  in  the  section  controlled  by 
Tammany.  We  need  the  votes,  but  especially  the 
contributions  of  the  "  highbrows."  What  do  you 
think  of  young  Roosevelt  ?  ' 

"  I  had  heard  of  him  and  was  enthusiastic. 
Well,  we  arranged  a  dinner  at  Delmonico's. 
Three  hundred  of  the  '  highbrows  '  were  pres- 
ent. Roosevelt,  then  only  twenty-two  and  not 
as  eloquent  as  he  afterward  became,  read  a  speech 
for  an  hour.  He  told  what  was  the  matter  with 
the  city,  what  was  the  matter  with  the  state,  and 
what  was  the  matter  with  the  nation.  More- 
over, he  said  he  could  remedy  the  whole  situa- 
tion. He  was  elected  to  the  Assembly.  I  shall 
never  forget  that  speech  of  his.  He  lived  up  to 
it  consistently  all  through  life." 


ANECDOTE  AND  ADVENTURE  335 

An  inside  story  of  the  nomination  of  Mr. 
Roosevelt  for  Governor  of  New  York  is  told, 
also,  by  Mr.  Depew : 

"  The  political  situation  in  New  York  State 
was  critical  for  the  party  in  power.  The  people 
had  voted  nine  millions  of  dollars  to  improve 
canals.  Governor  Black  ordered  an  investiga- 
tion which  resulted  in  finding  that  one  million 
of  it  had  either  been  lost  or  stolen.  The  canals 
have  always  been  politically  perilous  to  the  party 
in  power  in  the  State  of  New  York.  Thomas  C. 
Platt  was  our  state  leader  and  asked  me  to  a 
consultation  as  to  a  candidate  for  Governor.  He 
said,  '  Ben  Odell  has  advised  me  to  select  Roose- 
velt, who  is  in  camp  on  Long  Island,  but  as 
Police  Commissioner,  Civil  Service  Commis- 
sioner, and  Assistant  Secretary  of  the  Navy  he 
has  always  been  uncontrollable  either  by  the  party 
organization  or  his  superiors  and  I  am  afraid  he 
might  be  most  dangerous  to  our  organization/ 

"  I  told  him  in  my  judgment  Roosevelt  was  the 
only  man  we  could  elect,  and  I  added :  '  Of 
course,  I  shall  make  speeches  as  always  and  will 
expect  the  heckler  to  ask  questions.  He  is  bound 
to  say,  '  Your  eulogy  of  the  grand  old  party  is 
all  right,  but  how  about  the  million  of  dollars 
stolen  from  the  canal  fund  ?  '  Then  the  speaker 
has  to  explain  that  it  was  only  a  million,  and  that 
will  be  fatal,  but  if  you  nominate  Roosevelt  I  can 
say  to  my  friend,  the  heckler, '  I  am  very  glad  you 
asked  that  question.  We  have  nominated  for 
Governor  the  greatest  thief  catcher  there  is  in  the 
world.  As  Police  Commissioner  he  cleaned  up 


336        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

New  York  and  in  the  Cuban  War  he  has  cleaned 
up  that  island.  He  is  the  one  man  who  will  find 
out  what  became  of  the  money,  and  if  it  was 
stolen  will  punish  the  thieves  and  obtain  restitu- 
tion. The  band  will  play  '  The  Star-Spangled 
Banner/  " 

"  Mr.  Platt  said :  '  That  settles  it ;  he  will  be 
nominated.' " 

More  than  once  the  Kaiser  caught  a  Tatar 
when  he  approached  Mr.  Roosevelt.  Hermann 
Hagedorn,  speaking  at  a  memorial  service  in  New 
York  told  how  in  the  Summer  of  1914,  a  month 
after  the  war  had  started,  the  Kaiser  sent  a 
special  messenger  to  Colonel  Roosevelt  with  a 
message  in  which  the  Kaiser  renewed  his  pro- 
fessions of  friendship  and  said  he  recalled  with 
pleasure  the  visit  of  Colonel  Roosevelt  to  Berlin. 
Mr.  Hagedorn  said  that  Colonel  Roosevelt's  re- 
ply was :  "  Tell  his  Majesty  that  I  thank  him  for 
his  expression  of  good  will.  Also  tell  him  that  I 
recall  with  pleasure  my  visit  to  Berlin,  just  as  I 
recall  with  great  pleasure  my  subsequent  visit 
to  the  King  and  Queen  of  the  Belgians." 

Another  encounter  with  the  Kaiser  took  place 
in  England  after  Mr.  Roosevelt's  return  from 
Africa.  Mr.  James  M.  Beck  tells  of  it.  It  ap- 
pears that  the  Kaiser  and  the  Colonel  were  pres- 
ent at  a  great  Court  function  in  London,  and  as 
they  were  leaving  Buckingham  Palace  the  Kaiser 
turned  to  Mr.  Roosevelt  and  said :  "  Colonel,  I 
want  to  see  you  before  you  leave  London.  Come 
to-morrow  at  two  o'clock  and  I  can  give  you 


ANECDOTE  AND  ADVENTURE  33? 

forty-five  minutes."  "  Very  good,  your  Maj- 
esty," replied  Roosevelt.  "  I  shall  be  there  at 
two,  but  unfortunately  I  cannot  spare  more  than 
twenty  minutes." 

Dr.  James  M.  Ludlow  was  pastor  of  the 
Church  of  St.  Nicholas,  in  New  York,  forty-six 
years  ago  when  the  Roosevelt  family  went  there 
to  worship,  and  he  has  told  how  Theodore  Roose- 
velt, the  boy,  interested  him  then  by  his  quick- 
minded  attention  and  his  power  of  observation. 
So  conspicuous  was  this  faculty  that  when  some 
one  asked  Doctor  Ludlow  in  what  part  of  the 
body  the  mind  was  located,  he  replied :  "  In 
Theodore  Roosevelt  it  is  right  back  of  the  eye- 
balls. One  Sunday,"  he  said,  "  I  imagined  that 
Theodore  was  paying  more  attention  to  the 
flowers  that  stood  upon  this  altar  than  to 
the  sermon.  He  was  intense  for  knowledge, 
and  I  think  he  was  botanizing  those  flowers 
more  carefully  than  he  was  analyzing  the 
sermon." 

But  his  mind  did  not  fail  to  take  in  the  mess- 
ages of  the  preacher,  for  Doctor  Ludlow  told  of 
the  result :  "  I  remember  well  when  Theodore 
came  to  me  as  a  sixteen-year-old  boy.  It  was  in 
my  study  forty-four  years  ago.  '  Doctor,  I'm 
thoroughly  convinced  that  your  doctrines  are 
true  and  I  feel  that  I  ought  to  say  so,'  he  said  to 
me.  '  May  I  come  to  church  ? '  he  asked.  And 
it  was  here  that  I  knew  the  boy  —  and  he  was  a 
boy  to  the  end.  His  was  a  loving,  boyish  heart, 
swelling  with  tenderness  for  humanity.  And  it 
is  his  message  of  boyhood  that  I  would  give  you. 


338        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

Simply,  it  was  this:  If  you  believe  a  thing  is 
good  or  true,  say  so.     If  you  see  a  duty,  do  it." 

Mr.  Roosevelt  was  not  slow  to  resent  an  in- 
jury, but  he  was  very  quick  to  forget  and  forgive 
on  the  slightest  sign  of  repentance.  Elijah  W. 
Halford  tells  in  The  Christian  Advocate  an  illus- 
tration of  this  quality : 

"  A  very  prominent  Republican  Congressman 
was  in  my  room  one  day  after  he  had  made  a 
bitter  attack  in  the  House  upon  civil  service  re- 
form, repeating  many  of  the  cheap  current 
charges  and  criticisms  upon  the  work  of  the  com- 
mission, and  particularly  singling  out  Mr.  Roose- 
velt for  sarcastic  comment.  While  he  was  talk- 
ing with  me  the  Commissioner  came  in.  They 
did  not  speak  to  each  other,  and  I  was  tactless 
enough  to  introduce  them ;  when  almost  immedi- 
ately the  fireworks  began,  and  in  a  minute  or  two 
the  lie  passed.  I  got  between  the  two,  and  the 
Congressman  at  once  left  the  room.  Mr.  Roose- 
velt apologized  to  me,  and  said  he  realized  that 
any  man  who  struck  another  in  the  President's 
house  could  not  remain  his  appointee,  and  he  had 
determined  if  blows  were  exchanged  at  once  to 
write  out  his  resignation. 

"  The  sequel  to  this  story,  as  related,  is  that 
some  years  afterward,  in  the  same  room,  Presi- 
dent McKinley  and  the  Congressman  were  having 
a  friendly  chat.  Mr.  Roosevelt  entered,  and 
seeing  who  was  present,  sat  down  in  a  corner 
chair,  awaiting  his  departure.  The  Congressman 
had  observed  who  came  in.  Without  apparent 
change  in  manner,  but  in  a  voice  distinctly  heard 


ANECDOTE  AND  ADVENTURE  339 

he  said :  '  McKinley,  you  remember  a  fellow 
named  Roosevelt,  who  was  Harrison's  Civil  Serv- 
ice Commissioner.  He  was  the  most  impracti- 
cable ass  ever.  I  notice  you  have  an  Assistant 
Secretary  of  the  Navy  a  person  with  the  same 
name,  but  it  can't  be  the  same  man,  for  your  man 
is  about  the  most  efficient  officer  I  have  ever 
known.'  Mr.  Roosevelt  sprang  to  his  feet, 
walked  across  the  room,  extending  his  hand  to  his 
old-time  enemy,  saying  "  Put  it  there,  it's  all 
right  hereafter."  They  shook  hands  heartily,  and 
from  that  day  remained  the  best  of  friends." 

Although  prevented  from  giving  personal  serv- 
ice overseas  during  the  great  war,  to  the  last, 
says  a  correspondent  of  the  Evening  Mail,  the 
heart  of  Theodore  Roosevelt  was  with  the  sol- 
diers at  the  front.  News  reached  Washington, 
in  private  letters  soon  after  Mr.  Roosevelt's 
death,  of  how  the  former  President  gave  some 
of  the  American  soldiers  guarding  the  Rhine  the 
kind  of  Christmas  eve  they  longed  for,  but  ap- 
parently had  no  hope  of  getting. 

The  day  before  Christmas,  Colonel  Theodore 
Roosevelt,  Jr.,  summoned  Captain  George  Corn- 
ish, of  the  headquarters  company.  "  Captain," 
he  said,  "  I  have  a  letter  from  my  father,  and  he 
wants  all  the  boys  to  have  a  jolly  Christmas  eve. 
He  has  sent  the  necessary  money  for  that  pur- 
pose, and  has  asked  me  to  hand  it  to  you  with 
the  hope  that  the  company  will  accept  it  and 
have  an  American  holiday." 

The  company  accepted  it  and  made  the  welkin 
ring  that  night  along  the  Rhine.  Nor  will  any 


340        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

man  or  officer  of  that  company  on  any  Christmas 
eve  hereafter,  no  matter  how  long  he  lives,  fail  to 
pay  homage  to  the  memory  of  Theodore  Roose- 
velt, who  "  never  forgot  the  boys  at  the  front." 


CHAPTER  XX 

THE    MORAL   LEADER   AND   STALWART 
AMERICAN 

IN  a  private  conversation,  in  1908,  Theodore 
Roosevelt  said,  "  My  problems  are  moral  prob- 
lems, and  my  teaching  has  been  plainly  morality." 
The  newspapers  and  cartoonists  who,  at  that  time, 
were  so  fond  of  ringing  the  changes  on  the 
phrase  "  my  politics,"  saw  for  the  most  part  only 
some  of  the  outward  expressions  of  the  underly- 
ing principles.  With  Mr.  Roosevelt  it  was  al- 
ways the  principles  first  and  the  policies  after- 
ward. 

His  concrete  accomplishments  as  President 
were  many  and  some  of  them  were  of  epoch- 
making  importance.  The  peace  between  Japan 
and  Russia,  the  acquisition  of  the  Panama  Canal 
and  putting  the  work  on  a  basis  which  gives  as- 
surance of  successful  completion,  the  movement 
for  conservation  of  natural  resources,  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  United  States  in  the  first  rank  of 
powers,  the  settlement  of  the  anthracite  strike, 
the  improvement  of  our  relation  with  the  Latin- 
American  countries  are  just  a  few  of  President 
Roosevelt's  conspicuous  accomplishments,  but  all 
of  them  are  of  less  real  importance  than  his  one 


THE  MORAL  LEADER  341 

great  work,  the  awakening  of  the  public  con- 
science, or,  as  the  London  World  puts  it,  "  the 
moral  regeneration  of  the  American  people." 
This  sedate  weekly  British  paper  continues,  edi- 
torially :  "  Thanks  to  Mr.  Roosevelt,  men  do  not 
do  the  things  they  did.  They  do  not  even  think 
the  thoughts  of  a  decade  ago.  He  has  broadened 
the  social  conscience  of  the  people.  The  rela- 
tions between  capital  and  labor  and  such  ques- 
tions as  employers'  liability  and  the  employment 
of  women  and  children  are  regarded  from  a 
vastly  more  enlightened  and  sensitive  standpoint 
than  when  he  first  entered  the  White  House. 
The  tone  of  public  life  has  been  correspondingly 
raised." 

His  preaching  of  individual  and  civic  righteous- 
ness began  long  ago  as  a  private  citizen  and  con- 
tinued with  increasing  force  and  effectiveness 
throughout  his  public  life,  during  which  he  was 
the  militant  leader  in  a  crusade.  "  He  convinced 
the  community  that  many  things  which  used  to  be 
looked  upon  as  a  trifle  dubious  in  strict  morals, 
but  on  the  whole  legitimate  enough  because  '  that 
was  the  way  of  business,'  cannot  be  exempted 
from  judgment  by  moral  standards." 

Andrew  .Carnegie  saw  that  the  beneficient  re- 
sult of  Roosevelt's  teaching  "  has  been  to  de- 
velop in  the  average  man  of  affairs  a  keener  sense 
of  personal  and  official  responsibility  than  ever 
existed  before.  The  chief  officers  and  directors 
of  great  organizations  have  been  awakened  to 
higher  and  stricter  views  of  their  duty  as  being 
trustees  for  the  general  public,  and  no  longer  as 
mere  business  men  intent  upon  adding  to  their 


34*        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

fortunes  as  their  prime  and  legitimate  aim."  In 
support  of  this  definite  and  striking  statement, 
Mr.  Carnegie  quoted  as  one  of  the  greatest  pos- 
sible tributes  to  Roosevelt's  moral  leadership  the 
following  acknowledgment  made  by  Judge  Gary, 
at  that  time  head  of  the  United  States  Steel 
Corporation :  "  I  know  that  the  reiteration  of  the 
oft-stated  principles  of  the  President  of  the 
United  States  has  increased  my  feeling  of  re- 
sponsibility toward  the  stockholders  I  repre- 
sent, toward  our  competitors,  toward  business 
men,  and  toward  the  public,  and  that  our  rela- 
tions have  been  improved." 

Shortly  after  this  remarkable  acknowledg- 
ment was  uttered  the  United  States  Steel  Cor- 
poration surprised  and  delighted  its  multitude  of 
stockholders  and  won  the  praise  of  many  former 
critics  by  establishing  its  common  stock  on  a  5 
per  cent  dividend  basis. 

Even  the  New  York  Times,  which  was  one  of 
Mr.  Roosevelt's  most  hostile  critics  during  his 
struggle  to  set  "  big  business  "  straight,  and  a 
persistent  antagonist  in  all  his  later  political  cam- 
paigns, looking  back  over  his  work  after  death 
had  taken  him  away,  saw  the  good  he  had  accom- 
plished and  acknowledged  it  in  thesre  words : 

"  His  enduring  works,  and  by  their  enduring 
works  history  judges  men,  his  vital  achievements, 
were  the  reformation  in  business  morality 
brought  about  chiefly  by  his  storming  assaults 
upon  rooted  evils,  and  his  powerful  and  effective 
appeals  for  preparedness,  and  a  true  understand- 
ing of  what  the  war  meant,  in  the  year  preceding 
our  call  to  arms.  By  his  labors  in  these  two 


THE  MORAL  LEADER  343 

fields,  to  speak  of  no  others,  he  profoundly  in- 
fluenced the  thought  and  character  of  his  fellow 
men,  and  he  put  the  stamp  of  his  genius  upon  the 
history  of  his  country.  He  made  history,  he 
changed  its  currents. 

"  It  is  not  merely  that  Mr.  Roosevelt  changed 
the  laws  —  a  man  of  smaller  influence  or  a  na- 
tional legislator  under  no  moral  conviction  might 
have  done  that  —  his  great  achievement  was  that 
he  changed  the  mental  attitude  of  the  people  and 
brought  '  big  business '  itself  to  repentance  and 
to  the  ways  of  righteousness." 

The  plain,  straightforward  principles  of  even- 
handed  justice  for  all  men  regardless  of  posi- 
tion, wealth,  or  creed;  of  law  and  order  and  re- 
spect for  governmental  authority ;  of  pure,  sturdy 
honesty  in  business  and  public  affairs,  as  in  pri- 
vate life;  of  energy  and  diligence  applied  in 
worthy  work ;  of  the  habit  of  putting  into  every- 
thing that  is  worth  doing  at  all  the  very  best 
effort  and  ability,  such  principles  as  these  were 
made  familiar  for  many  years  in  Roosevelt's 
teachings  and  in  his  own  life.  His  speeches,  his 
books,  his  letters,  his  example  are  the  possession 
of  the  entire  people. 

The  most  stirring  and  compact  statement  which 
he  made,  perhaps,  is  the  address  on  "  Citizenship 
in  a  Republic,"  delivered  April  23,  1910,  at  the 
Sorbonne  University  in  Paris.  In  this  address 
Mr.  Roosevelt  pleaded  strongly  and  eloquently 
for  those  personal  "  qualities  which  make  for 
efficiency  "  and  also  for  those  "  which  direct  the 
efficiency  into  channels  for  the  public  good."  He 
pleaded  for  the  moral  sense;  for  the  gifts  of 


344        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

sympathy  with  plain  people  and  of  devotion  to 
great  ideals;  for  "  the  great  solid  qualities  —  self- 
restraint,  self-mastery,  common  sense,  the  power 
of  accepting  individual  responsibility  and  yet  of 
acting  in  conjunction  with  others,  courage  and 
resolution  —  the  qualities  of  a  masterful  peo- 
ple." He  demanded  also  "  the  commonplace, 
every-day  qualities  and  virtues  —  the  will  and 
the  power  to  work,  to  fight  at  need,  and  to  have 
plenty  of  healthy  children."  He  declared  that 
"  the  homely  virtues  of  the  household,  the  ordi- 
nary workaday  virtues  which  make  the  woman  a 
good  housewife  and  house  mother,  which  make 
the  man  a  hard  worker,  a  good  husband  and 
father,  a  good  soldier  at  need,  stand  at  the  bot- 
tom of  character,"  and  "  in  the  last  analysis  free 
institutions  rest  upon  the  character  of  citizen- 
ship." 

A  loftier  note  was  sounded  in  the  assertion 
that  "  there  is  little  use  for  the  being  whose  tepid 
soul  knows  nothing  of  the  great  and  generous 
emotion,  of  the  high  pride,  the  stern  belief,  the 
lofty  enthusiasm  of  the  men  who  quell  the  storm 
and  ride  the  thunder.  Well  for  these  men  if  they 
succeed ;  well  also,  though  not  so  well,  if  they 
fail,  given  only  that  they  have  nobly  ventured 
and  have  put  forth  all  their  heart  and  strength. 
...  It  is  not  the  critic  who  counts,  not  the  man 
who  points  out  how  the  strong  man  stumbles  or 
where  the  doer  of  deeds  could  have  done  better. 
The  credit  belongs  to  the  man  who  is  actually  in 
the  arena,  whose  face  is  marred  by  dust  and  sweat 
and  blood,  who  strives  valiantly,  who  errs  and 
comes  short  again  and  again,  because  there  is  no 


THE  MORAL  LEADER  345 

effort  without  error  and  shortcoming,  but  who 
does  actually  strive  to  do  the  deeds,  who  knows 
the  great  enthusiasms,  the  great  devotions,  who 
spends  himself  in  a  worthy  cause,  who  at  the  best 
knows  in  the  end  the  triumph  of  high  achieve- 
ment, and  who  at  the  worst,  if  he  fails,  at  least 
fails  while  daring  greatly,  so  that  his  place  shall 
never  be  with  those  cold  and  timid  souls  who 
know  neither  victory  nor  defeat." 

At  another  time,  putting  the  same  vigorous 
truth  in  other  words,  he  declared  that, 

"  In  the  unending  strife  for  civic  betterment 
small  is  the  use  of  those  people  who  mean  well 
but  who  mean  well  feebly.  The  man  who  counts 
is  the  man  who  is  decent  and  who  makes  himself 
felt  as  a  force  for  decency,  for  cleanliness,  for 
civic  righteousness.  He  must  have  several  quali- 
ties; first  and  foremost,  of  course,  he  must  be 
honest,  he  must  have  the  root  of  right  thinking  in 
him.  That  is  not  enough.  In  the  next  place  he 
must  have  courage ;  the  timid  man  counts  but 
little  in  the  rough  business  of  trying  to  do  well 
the  world's  work.  And  finally,  in  addition  to 
being  honest  and  brave,  he  must  have  common 
sense.  If  he  does  not  have  it,  no  matter  what 
other  qualities  he  may  have,  he  will  find  him- 
self at  the  mercy  of  those  who,  without  pos- 
sessing his  desire  to  do  right,  know  only  too  well 
how  to  make  the  wrong  effective." 

With  the  memory  of  Roosevelt's  many  ringing 
appeals  for  preparedness  and  his  tireless  efforts, 
during  four  years,  to  stir  the  war  spirit  of  Amer- 
icans and  to  spur  on  the  government  to  greater 
efforts  in  pushing  the  war,  it  is  hard  to  think  of 


346        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

Colonel  Roosevelt  as  an  apostle  of  peace,  yet  he 
must  be  so  regarded,  notwithstanding  his  militant 
career  and  his  strenuous  proclivities.  He  hated 
war,  even  while  he  was  urging  it.  But  his  hatred 
of  war  and  his  love  of  peace  were  both  relative 
and  subordinate  to  his  greater  passion  for  right- 
eousness. 

Before  the  Nobel  Prize  Committee,  at  Chris- 
tiania,  Norway,  he  outlined  plans  for  "  great 
advance  in  the  cause  of  international  peace." 
Surely  this  strong  and  militant  leader  of  men, 
this  master  of  irresistible  forces,  this  intrepid 
warrior  and  hunter  who  feared  no  enemy,  man 
or  beast,  this  human  "  dreadnought,"  standing 
forth  before  the  world  as  an  apostle  of  peace,  was 
an  impressive  spectacle.  Eight  years  previ- 
ously, in  an  address  at  a  banquet  of  the  cham- 
ber of  commerce  of  New  York  City,  he  said: 
"  The  voice  of  the  weakling  or  the  craven  counts 
for  nothing  when  he  clamors  for  peace,  but  the 
voice  of  the  just  man  armed  is  potent."  That 
was  why  he  wanted  his  country  to  be  armed. 
Yet  here,  again,  he  applied  the  same  final  test  as 
in  all  other  matters  of  personal  or  national  con- 
duct: "  War  is  a  dreadful  thing,  and  unjust  war 
is  a  crime  against  humanity.  But  it  is  such  a 
crime  because  it  is  unjust,  not  because  it  is  war. 
The  choice  must  ever  be  in  favor  of  righteous- 
ness, and  this  whether  the  alternative  be  peace 
or  whether  the  alternative  be  war.  The  question 
must  not  be  merely:  Is  it  to  be  peace  or  war? 
The  question  must  be:  Is  the  right  to  prevail? 
Are  the  great  laws  of  righteousness  once  more 
to  be  fulfilled  ?  And  the  answer  from  a  strong, 


'    THE  MORAL  LEADER  347 

virile  people  must  be  '  yes '  whatever  the  cost." 

When,  a  few  years  later,  the  stern  challenge 
of  a  wanton  and  unjust  war  came  to  America, 
the  same  question  demanded  an  answer :  "  Is  the 
right  to  prevail?  "  It  was  the  voice  of  Theodore 
Roosevelt,  almost  alone  for  two  and  a  half  years, 
which  rang  out  from  end  to  end  of  the  Nation 
pleading  and  demanding  that  the  answer  from 
this  "  strong  virile  people  be  '  yes '  whatever  the 
cost." 

In  one  of  his  latest  books  "  Fear  God  and 
Take  Your  Own  Part,"  published  in  1916  by 
George  H.  Doran  Company,  he  put  this  challenge 
squarely  before  America  in  the  following  words : 

"  Fear  God ;  and  take  your  own  part !  Fear 
God,  in  the  true  sense  of  the  word,  means  love 
God,  respect  God,  honor  God;  and  all  of  this 
can  only  be  done  by  loving  our  neighbor,  treat- 
ing him  justly  and  mercifully,  and  in  all  ways  en- 
deavoring to  protect  him  from  injustice  and 
cruelty ;  thus  obeying,  as  far  as  our  human  frailty 
will  permit,  the  great  and  immutable  law  of 
righteousness. 

"  We  fear  God  when  we  do  justice  to  and  de- 
mand justice  for  the  men  within  our  own  bor- 
ders. We  are  false  to  the  teachings  of  righteous- 
ness if  we  do  not  do  such  justice  and  demand 
such  justice.  We  must  do  it  to  the  weak,  and  we 
must  do  it  to  the  strong.  We  do  not  fear  God 
if  we  show  mean  envy  and  hatred  of  those  who 
are  better  off  than  we  are;  and  still  less  do  we 
fear  God  if  we  show  a  base  arrogance  towards 
and  selfish  lack  of  consideration  for  those  who 
are  less  well  off.  We  must  apply  the  same  stand- 


348        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

ard  of  conduct  alike  to  man  and  to  woman,  to 
rich  man  and  to  poor  man,  to  employer  and  em- 
ploye. 

"  But  in  addition  to  fearing  God,  it  is  necessary 
that  we  should  be  able  and  ready  to  take  our 
own  part.  The  man  who  cannot  take  his  own 
part  is  a  nuisance  in  the  community,  a  source  of 
weakness,  an  encouragement  to  wrong  doers  and 
an  added  burden  to  the  men  who  wish  to  do 
what  is  right.  If  he  cannot  take  his  own  part, 
then  somebody  else  has  to  take  it  for  him;  and 
this  means  that  his  weakness  and  cowardice  and 
inefficiency  place  an  added  burden  on  some  other 
man  and  make  that  other  man's  strength  by  just 
so  much  of  less  avail  to  the  community  as  a 
whole.  No  man  can  take  the  part  of  any  one 
else  unless  he  is  able  to  take  his  own  part.  This 
is  just  as  true  of  nations  as  of  men.  A  na- 
tion that  cannot  take  its  own  part  is  at  times  al- 
most as  fertile  a  source  of  mischief  in  the  world 
at  large  as  is  a  nation  which  does  wrong  to  others, 
for  its  very  existence  puts  a  premium  on  such 
wrongdoing. 

"  Unless  we  are  thorough-going  Americans  and 
unless  our  patriotism  is  part  of  the  very  fiber  of 
our  being,  we  can  neither  serve  God  nor  take  our 
own  part.  Whatever  may  be  the  case  in  an  in- 
finitely remote  future,  at  present  no  people  can 
render  any  service  to  humanity  unless  as  a  peo- 
ple they  feel  an  intense  sense  of  national  cohesion 
and  solidarity.  The  man  who  loves  other  na- 
tions as  much  as  he  does  his  own,  stands  on  a  par 
-with  the  man  who  loves  other  women  as  much  as 
he  does  his  own  wife.  The  United  States  can 


THE  MORAL  LEADER  349 

accomplish  little  for  mankind,  save  in  so  far  as 
within  its  borders  it  develops  an  intense  spirit 
of  Americanism. 

"  Let  this  nation  fear  God  and  take  its  own 
part.  Let  it  scorn  to  do  wrong  to  great  or  small. 
Let  it  exercise  patience  and  charity  toward  all 
other  peoples,  and  yet  at  whatever  cost  unflinch- 
ingly stand  for  the  right  when  the  right  is  men- 
aced by  the  might  which  backs  wrong.  Let  it 
furthermore  remember  that  the  only  way  in  which 
successfully  to  oppose  wrong  which  is  backed  by 
night  is  to  put  over  against  it  right  which  is 
oacked  by  might. 

"  We  are  the  citizens  of  a  mighty  Republic  con- 
secrated to  the  service  of  God  above,  through 
the  service  of  man  on  this  earth.  We  are  the 
heirs  of  a  great  heritage  bequeathed  to  us  by 
statesmen  who  saw  with  the  eyes  of  the  seer  and 
the  prophet.  We  must  not  prove  false  to  the 
memories  of  the  nation's  past.  We  must  not 
prove  false  to  the  fathers  from  whose  loins  we 
sprang,  and  to  their  fathers,  the  stern  men  who 
dared  greatly  and  risked  all  things  that  freedom 
should  hold  aloft  an  undimmed  torch  in  this  wide 
land.  They  held  their  worldly  well-being  as 
dust  in  the  balance  when  weighed  against  their 
sense  of  high  duty,  their  fealty  to  lofty  ideals. 
Let  us  show  ourselves  worthy  to  be  their  sons. 
Let  us  care,  as  is  right,  for  the  things  of  the 
body ;  but  let  us  show  that  we  care  even  more 
for  the  things  of  the  soul.  Stout  of  heart,  and 
pledged  to  the  valor  of  righteousness,  let  us  stand 
four-square  to  the  winds  of  destiny,  from  what- 
ever corner  of  the  world  they  blow.  Let  us  keef, 


350        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

untarnished,  unstained,  the  honor  of  the  flag  our 
fathers  bore  aloft  in  the  teeth  of  the  wildest 
storm,  the  flag  that  shall  float  above  the  solid  files 
of  a  united  people,  a  people  sworn  to  the  great 
cause  of  liberty  and  of  justice,  for  themselves, 
and  for  all  the  sons  and  daughters  of  men." 

How  strongly  Theodore  Roosevelt's  stalwart 
Americanism  was  impressed  upon  the  thought 
and  temper  of  the  people  was  strikingly  evi- 
denced by  the  thousands  of  editorial  and  per- 
sonal tributes  which  dwelt  on  that  one  theme 
after  his  death.  One  word  was  repeated  from 
sea  to  sea,  said  The  Literary  Digest  in  its  sum- 
mary of  these  tributes.  It  was  the  simple  but 
eloquent  word  "  American."  Colonel  Roosevelt 
himself  recognized  and  was  proud  of  the  way  in 
which  so  many  American  racial  stocks  had  grown 
"  into  the  tree  of  his  sturdy  individuality,"  the 
Troy  Times  notes ;  and  the  Chicago  Daily  News 
puts  it  very  aptly  when  it  attributes  to  him  "  the 
culture  of  the  East,  the  breezmess  and  independ- 
ence of  the  great  West,  and  the  chivalry  and 
warmth  of  the  South."  The  tributes  brought  by 
his  death  from  political  friend  and  foe,  from  old 
neighbors  of  Oyster  Bay,  and  the  rulers  of  every 
civilized  land,  showed  that  if  public  opinion  were 
to  write  his  epitaph  it  would  be  "  Theodore 
Roosevelt,  American."  His  intense  American- 
ism, the  Utica  Observer  declares,  "  was  the  great 
guiding,  moving,  pulsating,  overwhelming  prin- 
ciple of  his  life."  The  Kansas  City  Star,  whose 
contributing  editor  he  was  at  the  time  of  his 
death,  called  him  "  the  embodiment  of  our  na- 
tion." At  the  height  of  his  career,  says  the  Bos- 


THE  MORAL  LEADER  35 1 

ton  Globe,  "  he  personified  America."  He  was 
"  more  typically  American  than  any  other  man 
who  ever  lived  in  America,"  according  to  the  In- 
dianapolis Times.  In  every  corner  of  the  earth, 
declared  the  New  York  Evening  World,  the  name 
of  Roosevelt  was  "  known  and  admired  as  stand- 
ing for  all  that  is  most  forceful,  compelling,  and 
at  the  same  time  fascinating  in  the  American 
character."  That  he  was  "  the  greatest  Ameri- 
can of  his  day  "  was  asserted  by  scores  of  editors 
and  public  men  as  soon  as  the  news  of  his  death 
was  learned,  and  not  only  the  greatest,  but  "  the 
most  typical,"  "  the  most  representative  "  Amer- 
ican. The  Louisville  Journal-Courier  calls  him 
"  the  great  composite  American  of  his  day  and 
generation."  Then  in  his  mental  qualities  he  was 
essentially  American,  it  seems  to  the  Philadelphia 
Public  Ledger ;  "  his  restless  energy,  his  keen 
zest  of  living,  his  courage,  his  audacity,  his  demo- 
cratic habits,  his  ready  sympathy  for  every  class, 
the  mixture  in  him  of  the  practical  and  the  ideal 
—  all  these  things  were  characteristic  of  the  soil 
from  which  he  sprang."  England  and  France 
looked  upon  Colonel  Roosevelt  as  summing  up 
in  his  own  personality  the  best  characteristics  of 
the  American  people.  It  seems  to  the  Man- 
chester (England)  Guardian  that  in  Theodore 
Roosevelt  was  "  expressed  what  the  Americans 
regard  as  the  Western  spirit  and  the  epoch  in 
which  the  West  came  into  his  own  .  .  .  He 
brought  into  the  world  of  politics  something  of 
the  air  of  the  great  prairies." 

It  seems  significant  to  the  New  York  Times, 
in  view  of  the  emphasis  upon  Colonel  Roosevelt's 


352        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

Americanism,  that  his  last  public  message  to  his 
fellow  countrymen  should  have  reiterated  his 
doctrine  of  "  absolute  undivided  Americanism." 
A  statement  which  was  read  at  a  meeting  held  by 
the  American  Defense  Society,  the  night  before 
the  Colonel  died,  declared  against  efforts  to  segre- 
gate immigrants  and  keep  them  separated  from 
the  rest  of  America,  and  hence  prevent  them 
from  doing  their  full  part  as  Americans.  The 
Colonel  said  in  part: 

"There  can  be  no  divided  allegiance  here. 
Any  man  who  says  he  is  an  American,  but  some- 
thing else  also,  isn't  an  American  at  all.  We 
have  room  for  but  one  flag,  and  this  excludes 
the  red  flag,  which  symbolizes  all  wars  against 
liberty  and  civilization,  just  as  much  as  it  ex- 
cludes any  foreign  flag  of  a  nation  to  which  we 
were  hostile.  We  have  room  for  but  one  lan- 
guage here,  and  that  is  the  English  language,  for 
we  intend  to  see  that  the  crucible  turns  our  peo- 
ple out  as  Americans,  of  American  nationality, 
and  not  as  dwellers  in  a  polyglot  boarding-house ; 
and  we  have  room  for  but  one  soul-loyalty,  and 
that  is  loyalty  to  the  American  people." 

It  was  by  holding  up  the  torch  of  Americanism 
in  such  messages  as  this  during  the  last  three 
years  that  Colonel  Roosevelt  did  his  greatest 
service  to  his  country,  in  the  opinion  of  the  New 
York  Evening  Sun,  Syracuse  Post-Standard, 
Washington  Herald,  and  Providence  Journal. 
The  latter  holds  that  "  he  was  never  more  cher- 
ished by  the  people  of  the  United  States  than  in 
these  closing  days,  never  more  confidently  looked 
to  for  wise  counsel."  The  Washington  Herald 


THE  MORAL  LEADER  353 

avers  that  our  war-machine  only  began  to  func- 
tion effectively  after  the  Colonel  had  proclaimed 
its  weaknesses.  The  Philadelphia  North  Ameri- 
can, which  has  been  a  thoroughgoing  Roosevelt 
paper  from  the  early  days  of  his  career,  declares 
that  America's  service  and  triumph  in  the  Great 
War  "  were  the  product  of  the  will,  the  passion- 
ate conviction,  and  the  devoted  services  of  Theo- 
dore Roosevelt,  private  citizen,  more  than  of  any 
other  force."  The  North  American  recalls  these 
circumstances  in  proof  of  its  apparently  extrava- 
gant statement : 

"  For  many  months  his  was  the  only  potent 
voice  raised  in  this  country  in  behalf  of  violated 
law  and  humanity.  Against  the  current  of  a 
misdirected  public  opinion,  in  the  face  of  traduc- 
ing criticism  and  an  official  enmity  that  was  little 
short  of  malignant,  he  championed  the  imperiled 
cause  of  democracy  and  preached  a  flaming  cru- 
sade of  America's  duty.  Despite  adverse  teach- 
ings backed  by  authority  during  two  years  and  a 
half,  the  truths  that  he  proclaimed  found  steadily 
growing  response.  It  was  his  stimulating  leader- 
ship that  awoke  the  conscience  and  rallied  the 
spirit  of  the  American  people,  until  they  literally 
forced  the  abandonment  of  a  vacillating,  self- 
seeking  policy,  and  turned  the  mighty  energies 
of  the  nation  into  the  channel  of  honor  and  obli- 
gation." 

Mr.  Roosevelt's  great  public  service,  the  New 
York  World  is  convinced,  was  rendered  when,  as 
President,  "  he  set  out  to  demonstrate  that  the 
Government  of  the  United  States  was  more 
powerful  than  any  aggregation  of  capital  or  than 


354        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

all  the  aggregations  of  capital  that  were  united 
by  a  common  interest  to  exploit  the  country." 
The  World,  probably  the  most  consistent  and  bit- 
ter political  foe  Mr.  Roosevelt  had  among  Ameri- 
can newspapers,  continues : 

"  The  United  States  was  probably  never  nearer 
to  a  social  revolution  than  it  was  when  Mr. 
Roosevelt  came  to  the  Presidency.  While  it  is 
true  that  he  never  succeeded  in  solving  the  trust 
problem  in  either  his  first  or  his  second  term,  by 
his  procedure  in  the  Northern  Securities  case  he 
succeeded  in  demonstrating  that  the  country  had 
laws  under  which  the  multiplication  of  trusts 
could  be  curbed,  that  the  highest  court  of  the  na- 
tion would  sustain  these  laws,  and  that  the  Gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States  was  not  at  the 
mercy  of  Wall  Street  and  organized  capital. 
This  having  been  demonstrated,  the  trust  ques- 
tion came  to  answer  itself  under  the  steady  pres- 
sure of  public  opinion." 

It  was  during  the  Roosevelt  Administration, 
declares  another  Democratic  paper,  the  Rich- 
mond Times-Dispatch,  that  "  there  was  laid  the 
solid  foundation  for  the  structure  of  social  and 
economic  progress  whose  towering  height  is  now 
a  beacon  to  all  other  nations."  As  President, 
declares  the  Boston  Christian  Science  Monitor, 
"  Mr.  Roosevelt  literally  tore  out  by  the  roots 
the  tradition  that  money-getting  was  the  chief 
end  of  the  American  citizen  and  that  the  way  in 
which  money  was  obtained  was  a  condition  sec- 
ondary to  the  possession  of  it."  Whatever 
shocks  Roosevelt  gave  capital  more  than  a  dec- 
ade ago,  there  can  now.  says  'such  a  representa- 


THE  MORAL  LEADER  355 

tive  of  financial  interests  as  the  Boston  News 
Bureau,  "  be  a  frank  acknowledgment  that  the 
very  intensity  of  those  blasts  —  whatever  the 
concrete  wisdom  of  policy  attempted  in  correction 
—  served  to  aid  the  sooner  coming  of  a  higher 
corporate  code  than  once  prevailed."  The  New 
York  Times,  which  is  far  from  being  a  radical 
newspaper,  admits  that  when  Mr.  Roosevelt  came 
into  power  many  possessors  of  great  wealth  used 
their  power  without  regard  for  the  interests  of 
the  people,  and  "  were  too  much  given  to  the 
practice  of  influencing  legislation  for  the  fur- 
therance of  their  own  plans."  President  Roose- 
velt's great  achievement  was  that  "  he  changed 
the  mental  attitude  of  the  people  and  brought 
'  big  business '  itself  to  repentance  and  to  the 
ways  of  righteousness."  President  Roosevelt 
led  the  country  "  into  the  consideration  of  human 
right  and  interests,"  is  the  way  the  Philadelphia 
Press  puts  it.  Colonel  Roosevelt,  declares  the 
New  York  Tribune,  laid  the  foundation  "of  the 
new  order  of  larger  Democracy  " ;  the  common 
virtues  which  he  preached  so  strenuously  of  fair- 
ness, honesty,  sincerity  "  were  the  ones  which 
were  most  sadly  lacking  in  our  political  prac- 
tice." His  finest  achievement,  says  the  New 
York  Sun,  was  that  "  he  did  change  the  attitude 
of  government  toward  property "  and  "  gave 
the  Republic  a  new  ideal  of  the  duties  and  re- 
sponsibilities of  citizenship." 

But  no  event  in  Mr.  Roosevelt's  career  ex- 
plains the  secret  of  his  hold  on  his  fellow  men. 
What  was  the  secret  of  this?  asks  the  Boston 
Herald,  and  it  answers :  "  He  was  a  man's  man, 


356        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

a  hero's  hero,  and  an  American's  American." 
The  most  important  part  of  his  equipment,  says 
the  Rochester  Post-Express,  was  his  "  normal 
force  and  dauntlessness."  Seldom  in  the  history 
of  the  world,  says  the  New  York  Evening 
World,  has  been  seen  a  "  more  marvelous  indi- 
vidual embodiment  of  mental,  moral,  and  physi- 
cal force,"  which  was  so  inspiring  that  "  few 
when  under  the  spell  asked  more  than  to  feel 
the  stimulating  dynamic  effects  of  it."  Dr. 
Frank  Crane  declares  in  one  of  his  syndicated 
newspaper  articles  that  "  No  man  has  ever  been 
more  a  part  of  every  man  in  the  United  States 
than  Theodore  Roosevelt."  His  chief  charac- 
teristic was  courage,  according  to  Doctor  Crane, 
and  since  that  quality  is  "  a  little  spark  of  God  " 
we  respect  it.  Because  Roosevelt  had  it  he  has 
"  very  near  to  the  American  heart."  Finally, 
says  this  writer,  "  he  was  a  friend  conceived  of 
as  a  friend  in  a  passionate  and  personal  way  as 
no  other  statesman  of  American  history  except 
Lincoln." 

On  the  Sunday  following  Mr.  Roosevelt's 
death  there  was  scarcely  a  church  in  all  New 
York,  says  The  Times,  in  which  the  pastor  did 
not  take  occasion  to  pay  tribute  to  Theodore 
Roosevelt  and  to  point  out  the  spiritual  lessons 
of  his  life.  Only  a  brief  quotation  from  one  of 
these,  Rev.  Dr.  William  T.  Manning,  of  old 
Trinity  Church,  can  be  given  here: 

"  The  outstanding  note  of  his  life  was  his  love 
of  right  and  his  fearless  courage  in  upholding  it. 
He  never  hesitated  to  take  his  open  stand  or 
flinched  from  saying  what  he  believed  needed  to 


INTERPRETATION  AND  CONCLUSION    357 

be  said.  He  sometimes  aroused  strong  and  even 
fierce  opposition,  but  in  the  end  he  was  admired, 
loved  and  trusted  even  by  most  of  those  who  dis- 
agreed with  him. 

"  To  our  human  eyes  it  seems  as  though  he 
could  not  be  spared,  but  his  work  was  finished 
and  it  was  done  faithfully  and  well.  May  God 
give  him  peace  and  blessing  in  the  other  life 
where  he  now  is,  and  may  God  give  to  many  of 
our  men  and  women  the  strong  moral  purpose, 
the  deep  love  of  country,  and  the  fearless  cour- 
age to  uphold  the  right  which  he  gave  to  Theo- 
dore Roosevelt." 


CHAPTER  XXI 

THE   MEANING  OF  ROOSEVELT 

"  MR.  ROOSEVELT  has  had  his  day,"  declared  a 
college  professor,  Harry  .Thurston  Peck,  in  The 
Forum,  October,  1908.  The  President  was  just 
completing  his  seven  and  a  half  years  in  the 
White  House,  after  resisting  strong  pressure  to 
accept  a  renomination,  and  this  writer  was  pro- 
nouncing a  serene  farewell  to  him  as  a  public 
character,  with  some  mild  speculation  as  to 
"  How  will  he  accept  that  transformation  which 
in  the  United  States  converts  the  chief  of  a  great 
nation  into  a  simple  citizen?" 

And  then  the  professor,  relishing  his  theme, 
yielded  to  the  pressure  of  his  own  prophetic  spirit 
and  foretold  the  fading  future  of  the  "  simple 
citizen  "  whom  he  was  consigning  to  impotence 


358        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

and  oblivion:  "At  noon  on  the  4th  of  March, 
1909,  Theodore  Roosevelt's  wish  will  no  longer 
be  law  to  a  hundred  thousand  officeholders.  His 
denunciations  and  his  eulogies  will  be  listened 
to  with  only  scant  attention.  His  word,  which 
now  sets  battle  fleets  in  motion,  summons  inter- 
national congresses  .  .  .  will  after  that  fateful 
day  not  move  so  much  as  a  tugboat  or  a  revenue 
cutter.  He  will  sink  to  a  subordinate  position 
after  having  been,  perhaps,  the  most-talked  of 
human  being  in  the  world.  It  will  be  a  strange 
thing  for  him  to  learn  the  lesson  that  the  power 
which  he  exercises  is  the  power  of  an  office  and 
not  the  power  of  an  individual  man." 

When  was  any  forecast  more  specifically  and 
overwhelmingly  controverted  by  the  facts?-  The 
ten  years  following  the  professor's  prophecy  were 
perhaps  the  greatest  years  in  Mr.  Roosevelt's 
life,  and  saw  the  exercise  of  his  greatest  influ- 
ence in  the  affairs  of  his  country.  His  voice 
roused  the  soul  of  the  Nation,  forced  a  reluctant 
and  dilatory  government  to  action,  called  mil- 
lions of  men  and  women  to  service  and  sacrifice 
for  the  safety  and  honor  of  America.  And  all 
this  time  he  was  only  "  a  simple  citizen."  But  it 
was  not  necessary  to  wait  ten  years,  or  even  five 
years,  to  see  the  sensational  reversal  of  the  pro- 
fessor's prophecy.  Less  than  two  years  after  it 
was  written,  the  "  simple  citizen,"  who  had  been 
away  for  the  most  of  that  time  in  the  jungles  of 
Africa,  returned  to  civilization,  and  the  -press  of 
the  day  described  his  "  oblivion  "  and  the  "  scant 
attention  "  which  his  words  received.  The  Cleve- 
land Plain  Dealer,  for  example,  said:  "Here  is 


INTERPRETATION  AND  CONCLUSION   359 

an  astonishing  phenomenon.  A  private  citizen  is 
seen  to  be  of  more  interest  to  the  world  than  any 
ruler  of  any  great  nation.  His  mere  opinion  on 
present  American  affairs  is  held  of  more  impor- 
tance than  anything  that  may  happen  in  America." 
And  in  the  American  Magazine,  Ray  Stannard 
Baker  was  writing,  even  before  Mr.  Roosevelt 
emerged  from  the  jungle:  "  Five  thousand  miles 
distant,  in  the  heart  of  Africa,  without  knowledge 
of  what  is  going  on  here  at  home,  without  having 
uttered  so  much  as  a  word  of  advice  (or  com- 
mand!) for  over  a  year,  Roosevelt  is  to-day  the 
predominant  factor  in  American  politics."  Still 
again,  Walter  Wellman,  writing  from  Europe  to 
the  American  Review  of  Reviews  the  result  of 
his  own  close  personal  observation,  said  "  We 
are  even  prepared  to  believe  that  which  is  told 
us  by  so  many  of  the  diplomatists,  officials, 
journalists,  officers  and  other  men  of  information 
we  meet  and  converse  with  —  namely,  that 
Theodore  Roosevelt  is  not  only  the  foremost  citi- 
zen of  our  own  country,  but  the  most  famous  of 
living  men.  They  tell  us,  and  seemingly  with 
candor  and  truth,  that  not  the  King  of  England, 
nor  the  Czar  of  Russia,  nor  the  Emperor  of  Ger- 
many, nor  any  other  sovereign  or  personage 
could  attract  half  the  attention  that  is  showered 
upon  this  private  citizen  of  the  United  States." 
Finally,  with  the  most  specific  conclusion,  the 
Paris  Temps,  after  noting  that  Mr.  Roosevelt's 
reception  in  France  and  elsewhere  in  Europe  was 
really  unparalleled  in  history,  said :  "  We  are  ac- 
customed to  formal  visits  of  kings  and  presi- 
dents, but  Roosevelt  is  no  longer  president.  It 


360        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

is  the  man,  therefore,  not  the  office,  which  is  be- 
ing honored"  Even  when  receptions  and  wel- 
comings  are  over  the  one  thing  of  real  impor- 
tance was  unchanged.  As  Andrew  Carnegie 
said :  "  Strip  him  of  all  external  dignities  and 
there  still  remains  the  Man,  in  full  possession  of 
marvelous  powers,  high  ideals,  sleepless  activity, 
and  boundless  popularity." 

Clearly,  then,  if  we  want  to  discover  the  mean- 
ing  of  Roosevelt,  it  is  not  "  the  power  of  an  of- 
fice "  which  we  want  to  study,  but  "  the  power  of 
an  individual  man."  Position,  wealth,  environ- 
ment, circumstances  —  all  external  matters  are 
of  secondary  interest.  The  man's  the  thing  we 
want  to  know.  What  was  he?  What  does  his 
personal  life,  his  individual  qualities  mean  for 
the  rest  of  us.  Was  he  a  mystery  or  a  miracle? 
Was  he  merely  a  spectacle,  or  was  he  a  phe- 
nomenon? Had  he  any  exclusive  copyright  or 
patent  on  his  personal  qualities?  Were  his 
popularity,  his  power,  his  fame  achieved  through 
magic,  or  bestowed  by  special  favor  of  the  gods? 
Did  he  reach  his  eminence  by  a  road  which  no 
other  man  could  travel?  The  rest  of  us  plain 
lAmerican  men,  some  two  score  millions  or  more, 
would  like  to  know,  just  confidentially  among 
ourselves,  we  who  have  seen  this  man  Roosevelt 
filling  the  world  with  his  individual  personality, 
whether  he  was  inherently  different  from  the  rest 
of  us,  whether  he  owned  some  intrinsic  possession 
which  we  do  not  or  cannot  have. 

In  the  effort  to  provide  the  material  from  the 
study  of  which  the  answers  to  these  questions 


INTERPRETATION  AND  CONCLUSION    361 

may  be  found,  this  book  has  been  made.  Most 
of  the  material  it  contains  has  been  gathered  from 
the  personal  writings  of  many  men  who  knew 
Mr.  Roosevelt  in  his  public  and  private  life,  in 
his  hunting  and  exploring  trips  in  the  wilderness, 
and  in  varied  activities  in  which  his  tireless 
energy  found  employment.  It  has  been  far  more 
difficult  to  select  and  include  than  to  reject  and 
omit,  because  of  the  overwhelming  abundance  of 
material.  Yet  enough  is  given  here  to  justify 
the  statement  that  the  more  closely  we  study  the 
personality  and  the  career  of  Roosevelt  the  more 
clearly  we  see  that  no  essential  qualities  nor  ad- 
vantages belonging  of  necessity  to  himself  alone 
have  been  responsible  for  his  great  success. 
Every  boy,  every  man  can  possess  himself  of  pre- 
cisely the  same  advantages.  It  is  a  matter  simply 
of  positive  choice,  resolute  purpose,  and  per- 
sistent following  of  the  course  mapped  out.  He 
recognized  this  fact  when  he  said :  "  To  tell  the 
truth,  I  like  to  believe  that,  by  what  I  have  ac- 
complished without  great  gifts,  I  may  be  a  source 
of  encouragement  to  American  boys."  And 
after  he  had  gone  from  us,  even  his  most  hostile 
political  foes  acknowledged  that  his  belief  in  that 
particular  had  been  fully  justified,  as  when  The 
Evening  World,  New  York,  said :  "  To  help  it  to 
the  kind  of  strong,  adventurous  American  man- 
hood that  has  indeed  made  the  Nation  truly  great 
as  never  before  among  nations,  American  youth 
has  had  no  more  forceful  teacher  and  example 
than  Theodore  Roosevelt." 

At  another  time  Mr.  Roosevelt  explained  in 


362        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

the  following  very  simple  manner  something  of 
the  secret  of  his  success,  disclaiming  any  par- 
ticular endowment  of  genius: 

"  It  has  always  seemed  to  me  that  in  life  there 
are  two  ways  of  achieving  success,  or,  for  that 
matter,  of  achieving  what  is  commonly  called 
greatness.  One  is  to  do  that  which  can  be  done 
by  the  man  of  exceptional  and  extraordinary 
abilities.  Of  course  this  means  that  only  one 
man  can  do  it,  and  it  is  a  very  rare  kind  of  suc- 
cess or  greatness.  The  other  is  to  do  that  which 
many  men  could  do,  but  which,  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  none  of  them  actually  does.  This  is  the 
ordinary  kind  of  greatness. 

"  Nobody  but  one  of  the  world's  rare  geniuses 
could  have  written  the  Gettysburg  speech,  or  the 
second  inaugural,  or  met  as  Lincoln  did  the  awful 
crises  of  the  Civil  War.  But  most  of  us  can  do 
the  ordinary  things  which,  however,  most  of  us 
do  not  do.  Any  hardy,  healthy  man,  fond  of 
outdoor  life,  but  not  in  the  least  an  athlete,  could 
lead  the  life  I  have  led  if  he  chose  —  and  by 
'  choosing '  I  of  course  mean  choosing  to  exer- 
cise requisite  industry,  judgment  and  foresight, 
none  of  a  very  marked  type." 

It  must  be  evident  that  the  Roosevelt  who 
filled  the  world  with  his  influence  and  his  own 
countrymen  with  a  love  and  allegiance  almost  un- 
paralleled, was  the  result,  not  so  much  of  special 
endowment  as  of  the  working  out  of  definite 
processes,  as  sure  and  inevitable  as  a  problem  in 
mathematics  or  a  formula  in  chemistry.  The 
same  processes  are  for  all  who  will  use  them,  and 
they  may  be  depended  upon  to  produce  other 


INTERPRETATION  AND  CONCLUSION   363 

such  results  in  matured  and  masterful  manhood. 

Physically,  Roosevelt  began  with  a  distinct 
handicap  which  most  boys  do  not  suffer,  yet  he 
overcame  it  and  became  an  athlete,  whose 
"  superb  health  and  resistless  youth "  after  the 
age  of  fifty  was  the  subject  of  comment.  He  did 
it  by  the  most  natural  and  systematic  process 
of  exercise  and  recreation,  not  the  easy-going 
recreation  of  an  idler  with  plenty  of  time  for 
holidays,  but  the  earnest,  purposeful  recreation 
of  the  busy  man  of  pressing  affairs  who  must 
make  every  minute  count.  If  Roosevelt  could 
build  up  his  body,  clear  his  brain,  and  enrich 
his  blood  by  exercise,  who  of  us  shall  say  we 
are  "  too  busy  "  for  such  vital  recreation? 

Intellectually  there  never  was  anything 
phenomenal  in  Roosevelt's  equipment.  He  was 
no  infant  prodigy.  He  became  a  persistent,  al- 
most omnivorous,  reader  and  student,  and  his 
appetite  for  knowledge  grew  by  feeding.  His 
memory  and  power  of  assimilation  grew  strong 
by  training  and  exercise  just  as  his  body  did. 
He  chose  to  accumulate  a  store  of  knowledge 
from  books,  from  nature,  from  men.  The  same 
libraries  of  printed  and  living  information  are 
free  to  all  men.  There  is  not  a  boy  or  a  young 
man  in  all  this  land  who  cannot,  if  he  will,  take 
such  a  course  of  reading  and  study  and  gain  from 
it  such  a  breadth  of  knowledge  as  Roosevelt's. 

"  The  proper  science  and  subject  for  man's 
contemplation  is  man  himself,"  declared  the 
philosopher  Charron,  and  if  Roosevelt  with  the 
same  wisdom  and  interest  chose  to  study,  by  close 
observation  and  contact,  his  fellow  man,  and  to 


I 


364        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

employ  all  his  energies  in  the  work  of  helping 
men  to  understand  and  strive  after  their  own 
best  development  and  their  rightful  relation  one 
to  another,  surely  there  is  no  reason  why  you  and 
I  should  not  do  the  same  thing.  Indeed,  we 
know  very  well  that  nothing  can  so  well  occupy 
our  time  or  our  talents  as  active,  sympathetic 
enterprise  for  t'he  uplifting  of  manhood  .and 
womanhood.  This  passion  of  service  to  man- 
kind is  a  steady  growth  and  a  constant  joy.  It 
can  never  be  idle ;  it  can  never  be  satiated.  Get- 
ting for  self  is  a  grind,  a  burden,  a  thing  that 
shrivels  and  never  satisfies.  Giving  to  others  is 
a  zestful,  ever-increasing  delight,  as  well  as  a 
sure  road  to  greatness. 

It  is  plain  to  see  that  so  much  of  Roosevelt's 
greatness  and  power  as  came  from  his  physical 
fitness  and  strenuous  activity,  his  habit  of  doing 
his  best  and  being  at  his  best  always,  his  laying 
strong  hands  upon  opportunities  as  they  pre- 
sented themselves,  his  industrious  reading,  his 
will-power  to  cultivate  and  develop  such  talents 
and  opportunities  as  were  his,  wasting  never  a 
moment,  and  his  unselfish,  unaffected  interest  in 
his  fellow  man  regardless  of  possessions  or  posi- 
tion—  so  much  of  Roosevelt's  greatness  as  was 
built  with  these  materials  may  be  the  property 
of  other  men  through  the  use  of  the  same  ma- 
terials. But  not  thus  alone  did  Roosevelt  be- 
come the  man  he  was,  and  not  thus  alone  can  any 
other  man  gain  the  power  invincible. 

Theodore  Roosevelt  met  and  overcome  count- 
less obstacles  and  enemies.  He  could  not  have 
done  it  with  any  mere  physical,  mental,  or  human 


INTERPRETATION  AND  CONCLUSION   365 

prowess  however  finely  developed.  The  strength 
of  truth,  honesty,  and  high  ideals  was  always  the 
one  secret  of  Roosevelt's  great  and  growing 
power.  His  fellow  countrymen  long  acknowl- 
edged it,  and  the  people  of  foreign  nations  did  it 
homage.  "  Righteousness  exalteth  a  nation," 
and  righteousness  exalteth  a  man.  In  all  his 
dealings  with  individuals,  with  classes,  with  na- 
tions Roosevelt's  one  test  was  this :  "  Is  the  right 
to  prevail?  Are  the  great  laws  of  righteousness 
to  be  fulfilled  ?  "  Where  parties,  or  persons,  or 
policies  conflict,  "  the  -  choice  must  ever  be  in 
favor  of  righteousness."  Do  foes  threaten? 
Is  popularity  or  place  at  stake?  "  We  scorn  the 
man  who  would  not  stand  for  justice  though  the 
whole  world  come  in  arms  against  him." 

Truth  and  righteousness  are  abstractions  of  no 
value  whatever  to  the  world  until  they  are  em- 
bodied in  a  personality.  The  stronger  and  better 
equipped  that  personality  is  in  other  respects,  as 
physical  and  mental,  the  more  value  and  power 
he  gives  to  the  truth  and  righteousness  for  which 
he  stands.  There  is  but  one  source  of  truth  and 
righteousness.  Except  as  they  flow  from  Al- 
mighty God  Himself  they  do  not  exist.  No  man 
can  possibly  stand  for  truth  and  righteousness  or 
employ  their  power  unless  he  is  in  direct  rela- 
tionship with  the  Divine  Source.  The  wireless 
connection  must  be  established  with  God  at  one 
end  and  man  at  the  other.  Then  the  man  can 
exclaim  boldly  and  truly  with  Paul :  "  I  can  do 
all  things  through  Christ  which  strengtheneth 
me."  Does  this  sound  too  much  like  a  sermon? 
Tell  me,  if  you  can,  how  to  approach  the  mighty 


366        ROOSEVELT'S  LIFE  AND  MEANING 

theme  of  truth  and  righteousness  with  God  left 
out? 

Roosevelt  grew  to  be  a  giant  in  the  world  for 
no  other  reason  than  that  he  linked  himself  with 
gigantic  forces.  He  put  spiritualities  above  ma- 
terialities and  did  much  to  save  the  soul  of 
America.  Official  dignities  and  authority,  politi- 
cal or  personal  popularity,  athletic  or  mental 
cleverness  all  are  trivial  and  transient.  Nothing 
that  is  external  has  any  real  power  or  perma- 
nence. The  spirit  within  is  the  invincible  force 
which  determines  whether  a  man  shall  be  a  crea- 
ture of  destiny  or  the  creator  of  destiny. 

This  is  the  meaning  which  Roosevelt's  person- 
ality and  career  must  have  for  us.  We  can  waste 
our  lives  in  ceaseless  hustle  for  the  external  re- 
wards in  the  gift  of  man  and  we  shall  never  gain 
much  or  hold  it  long.  Or  we  may  choose  that 
partnership  with  the  unseen  and  mighty  realities 
through  which  we  shall  grow  strong,  great,  and 
useful  in  and  to  the  world.  Then,  as  Roose- 
velt did,  we  shall  prove  that  the  power  exercised 
is  not  the  power  of  an  office,  but  is  the  power  of 
an  individual  man. 

Theodore  Roosevelt  could  not  fail.  He  had 
that  in  himself  which  made  him  very  largely  in- 
dependent of  circumstances  or  of  fortune.  A 
"  laborer  together  with  God  "  can  never  be  with- 
out a  job  nor  fail  to  draw  his  sure  wages.  Roose- 
velt is  gone,  but  America  need  not  be  left  without 
his  successor.  He  had  little  or  nothing  that  oth- 
ers may  not  have.  He  desired  that  his  brothers, 
especially  the  young  men  throughout  the  land 
which  he  loved  and  served,  shall  equip  themselves 


INTERPRETATION  AND  CONCLUSION  367 

with  the  same  potent  qualities.  In  these  days  of 
terrible  need  the  people  seize  greedily  upon  a 
strong  and  honest  man.  Here  is  the  great  op- 
portunity for  young  Americans  —  for  the  men 
whose  "  big  job  "  in  France  has  left  them  eager 
to  apply  their  strength  and  valor  in  something 
worth  while.  If  the  real  meaning  of  Roosevelt's 
life  shall  be  fully  appropriated  we  shall  find  in 
the  coming  generation  of  the  men  of  America  a 
veritable  race  of  moral  giants  to  whom  the  name 
of  patriot  can  truthfully  apply  in  all  its  largest 
significance. 


THE  END 


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